Software company Cloudera's feet firmly on the ground in China

US-based software company Cloudera Inc is accelerating its push in the Chinese market, aiming to meet local businesses' growing need for industrial internet and big data.

Dave Shuman, industry lead for the internet of things, manufacturing and mobility at Cloudera, said as the IoT becomes a new driving force across a range of industries, companies are seeking to build industrial IoT, or IIoT, platforms and technologies to gain new momentum amid the fierce competition.

"Recently, we're seeing rapid adoption and growth in IIoT platforms across many sectors," Shuman added. "For instance, it will help manufacturing companies increase their efficiency, have a better understanding of their customers, and better manage risks."

According to Shuman, IoT is a different way of thinking about data acquisition and processing, and there are significant challenges in evolving and understanding how to use new data sources, how to process data to make it useful, and how to build data into applications.

Shuman noted that China had huge potential in developing IoT and Cloudera was willing to support local companies' digital transformation.

To help clients accelerate their digital initiatives, Cloudera provides a platform for machine learning and analytics with multiple deployment options in a wide range of areas, including fraud detection, anti-money laundering, customer analytics, threat detection and predictive maintenance.

Seeking new engines for growth in the challenging marketplace, Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co, a leading Chinese construction machinery company, has deployed Cloudera's machine learning and analytics platform, gaining high-efficiency data analysis and deep mining of massive data sets, such as IoT data, Cloudera claimed.

"Cloudera's modern platform helps us manage and analyze data more effectively, enabling us to drive down costs and improve asset performance," said Zhou Zhizhong, big data department director at Zoomlion, "We are empowered to create more value for our customers, innovate with new products and services and create new revenue streams for our business."

With Cloudera's big data platform, Zoomlion's service costs have dropped by 30 percent, and its spare parts turnover rate has grown by 20 percent, according to company figures. With the improved efficiency of its workplaces, Zoomlion's annual profit has grown by around $25 million.

According to Zhou, industrial big data application in the construction machinery industry is still in the exploratory phase.

"Zoomlion is on the road to intelligent transformation," Zhou added. "The partnership and cooperation with Cloudera played a leading role in not only helping us create more value for our customers but also assisting in the standardization of China's equipment manufacturing industry."

A recent report from the Global System for Mobile Communication Association noted that China was poised to lead the global IIoT market.

The report estimated there would be 13.8 billion IIoT connections by 2025, and China would account for one-third of the global total.

Alex Sinclair, chief technology officer at GSMA, said backed by government support, China is set to become the world's leader in the field.

"These new technologies will fundamentally alter the way we live and work, intelligently connecting virtually every device, making our cities smarter and our lives easier and more productive," Sinclair noted. "And China is betting big on the IIoT to increase productivity and drive efficiencies by streamlining and automating manufacturing processes via internet connectivity."

According to a report by the China Economic Information Service, the IoT market in China reached more than 1 trillion yuan ($146 billion) last year, and is expected to maintain rapid growth in the next few years.

China has seen booming industrial application of IoT, said the report. Large-scale IoT testing has gradually been conducted in fields such as transportation, logistics, environmental protection, healthcare, security and electricity. Smart cities, the industrial IoT, internet of vehicles and the smart home have emerged as the major four market segments.