TechTouch Asia

Alibaba Cloud, the digital technologies and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, has unveiled a suite of innovations at its 12th annual Apsara Conference , highlighting the technology pioneer’s commitment in helping people adapt to a more digitised world and accelerate customers’ digital transformation during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference, themed Leap Into the Future of Digital Intelligence , was entirely hosted online for the first time. Source: Alibaba Cloud. Alibaba Cloud's first cloud computer is palm-sized . Alibaba Cloud’s first cloud computer, a palm-sized personal computer, made its debut at the event. Weighing in at about 60 g, the cloud computer offers high-performance computing thanks to robust back-end cloud resources. By connecting the cloud computer to a standard display monitor users can access computing resources limited only by their cloud consumption budget or subscription. “We hope our cloud computer can help people access resili...

Airport Railroad Express (AREX), a commuter railway connecting South Korea’s international airports to its capital city Seoul, is the country’s first domestic railway to feature a modern all-Internet Protocol (IP)-based communications network that integrates wired and wireless networks, enabling efficient network deployment as well as strengthened security and stability through MPLS VPN*. The transportation specialist selected Juniper Networks ’ solutions for its network upgrade. As an important international hub for business and tourism, having efficient transportation infrastructure between the country’s busy ports of entry and the metro urban centres is crucial. Particularly important is connectivity to and from Incheon International Airport (ICN), which has consistently been rated as one of the best and busiest airports in the world**. ICN has seen continued growth in traffic as one of the largest international gateways into Asia. Initially launched as a link between ICN and Gim...

Xero, the global small business platform, has released a report highlighting the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small businesses around the world. Source: Pandemic Insights: Small Business Experience report. Searches in Xero’s app marketplace from February to July 2020. Shopify and Woocommerce enable e-commerce while Stripe and Square facilitate payments. The Xero Small Business Insights (SBI) Special Report, Pandemic Insights: Small Business Experience , was produced with AlphaBeta (part of Accenture), and based on anonymised and aggregated records of over 300,000 Xero subscribers. It shows the impact on small business revenues and jobs in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. In North America and Asia, these insights are supported by survey-based customer research. According to the report, digital tools have helped small business adapt to new trading environments, through remote working solutions, and using online stores or delivery apps. The report also noted that apps en...