Together with Hong Kong Cyberport and HKT, Microsoft Hong Kong today announced the opening of Microsoft 5G IoT Makerspace, which integrates an Internet of Things (IoT) experience zone with makers workspace to inspire and enable Hong Kong start-ups to explore and experiment their IoT solutions through utilizing HKT’s 5G network and Microsoft’s technologies. Leveraging Hong Kong Cyberport’s start-up community and HKT’s true 5G services, Microsoft 5G IoT Makerspace will also offer workshops and expert advice to upskill start-ups, test their solutions and provide go-to-market support to commercialize their solutions.
Research from McKinsey Global Institute suggests that over the next decade IoT and related data growth will have an economic impact of up to US$11 trillion per year, equivalent to about 11% of the world economy. As Hong Kong and the world enter the 5G era, IoT will be a critical foundation for the continued rise of smart devices with expectations of 20 billion connected devices by 2020. IoT is the gateway to business transformation and will create a significant business opportunity for companies.
Fred Sheu, National Technology Officer of Microsoft Hong Kong, said, “In the next decade, nearly every consumer gadget, every household appliance and every industrial device will be connected to the Internet. IoT has the power to help us make our everyday lives better. Companies will have an opportunity to reimagine everything and fundamentally transform their businesses with new product offerings, new customer experiences, and differentiate against competition with new business models. We expect to see 5G accelerate this new wave of computing by supporting the proliferation of IoT and edge devices. We are going to see the combined benefits of two major industries – cloud and mobile – enabling the intelligent edge, with security as the core of Microsoft’s IoT platform.”
Peter Yan, Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Cyberport, said, “One of Cyberport’s goals is to strengthen the competitiveness of start-ups by promoting their collaborations with well-established tech companies and creating synergy between both parties. The establishment of the Microsoft 5G IoT Makerspace is an excellent example of how Cyberport’s anchor tenants can unleash the potential of our start-ups through technology enablement and by helping them seize opportunities in 5G and IoT. We are looking forward to seeing more Cyberport start-ups develop innovative 5G solutions with Microsoft’s state-of-the-art technology and be showcased at the Makerspace.”
Tom Chan, Managing Director of Commercial Group, HKT, said, “HKT is honored to unleash the power of true 5G at Microsoft 5G IoT Makerspace, where we can co-develop and fast-track 5G smart technology solutions with start-ups for enterprise applications in various sectors. 5G is a super enabler of emerging technologies and will drive tremendous growth of IoT, AR and other new applications. As the only Microsoft partner in Hong Kong with both Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) and Licensing Solution Provider (LSP) status, we are pleased to support start-ups with 5G and help on their go-to-market planning and strategies, capitalizing on our unique strengths in fixed and mobile network expertise, cloud computing, and many years of experience in system integration to help enterprises in digital transformation.”
