Huawei Cloud Introduces GaussDB and Database Pioneer Program to Drive South Africa's Digital Leap

Aug 08, 2024

[Cape Town, South Africa, August 6, 2024] Huawei Cloud successfully hosted the Database Innovation Forum 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. The theme of the forum was "GaussDB: A Better Way to Database". In collaboration with local customers and partners, Huawei introduced its GaussDB solutions to enable various public and private industries in the country to access distributed database technologies and accelerate digitalisation. GaussDB is a trustworthy data foundation for mission-critical workloads because it ensures high availability, performance, security, scalability, and intelligence.

At this forum Huawei Cloud also launched its GaussDB Pioneer Program to promote innovation and further adoption of database technologies in the country. 

 

Huawei Cloud GaussDB, a Better Way to Database

Steven Chen, Managing Director of Huawei Cloud South Africa, welcomed guests and delivered an opening address at the forum. "A wave of digitalisation and intelligence is transforming traditional infrastructure. Database is the foundation of this wave," said Chen.

Steven Chen, Managing Director of Huawei Cloud South Africa

The GaussDB event highlighted the capabilities of this database management system and showcased how AI-native distributed databases can be designed to overcome traditional database limitations.

GaussDB offers high performance, scalability, and security, supporting up to 15 million transactions per minute and significantly reduces latency and costs. The platform is trusted by top global banks and a range of industries because it ensures stability and efficiency.

Chen explained that GaussDB was developed based on the company's 20 years of expertise in this field, and that it allows for independent scaling of computing power and storage, which enhances resource utilisation. He emphasised Huawei Cloud’s commitment to African businesses, because Huawei Cloud provides comprehensive services and local expertise to optimise and implement GaussDB solutions, thus transforming enterprises across finance, government, transport, and several vertical sectors.

Danny Chen, Senior Principal Architect for Huawei Cloud's database product department, detailed four core technological advantages that make GaussDB a better databases of the future.

Danny Chen, Senior Principal Architect at Huawei Cloud’s Database Product Dept

· First, it offers an innovative architecture. GaussDB runs cloud native, with three resource pools, enhanced performance and efficiency, as well as multi-tenancy support to eliminate performance bottlenecks.

· Second, hardware-software synergy and dual-cluster strengthen consistency to eliminate availability bottlenecks.

· Third, native security. GaussDB supports end-to-end security with full encryption and anti-tampering to eliminate security and privacy bottlenecks.

· Fourth, AI-Native nature. A foundation model for databases has been built with interactive O&M enabled on GaussDB to rid systems of experience bottlenecks.

GaussDB's 20-year-development means it is fully validated in practical applications. For example, one of the world's top banks has used GaussDB to transform legacy databases that support over 150 business systems.

 

Deep Dive into GaussDB for MySQL, a Cloud-Native Database with Excellent Performance and Scalability

Manyi Lu, Senior Director for Huawei Cloud Database, detailed the pivotal shifts currently reshaping databases. These include a transition from centralised to distributed systems, a move from hardware to software for reliability, a switch from fixed to cloud-based elastic resources, a leap from manual to intelligent maintenance and optimisation, and an evolution from single-point to more comprehensive security measures.

Manyi Lu, Senior Director of Huawei Cloud Database

To cater to the varied business needs of its customers, Huawei Cloud has introduced an array of database services and tools. At the core of this suite are three enterprise-class databases: GaussDB, GaussDB for MySQL, and GeminiDB — a versatile multi-model NoSQL database.

 

GaussDB Pioneer Program Launched in South Africa

Mark Chadwick, Principal Consultant at Huawei Cloud South Africa, spoke in "Building a Smart, Digital Future by Taking a Cloud Leap". Chadwick revealed that Huawei Cloud is now among the top three vendors in South Africa’s public cloud market and ranked first in the hybrid cloud market.

"We are already proud to be the preferred cloud provider for customers across Asia Pacific. Now our team is offering robust support and working with partners to build a local ecosystem in South Africa," he said.

Mark Chadwick, Principal Consultant, Huawei Cloud South Africa

During the Summit, Huawei Cloud launched the GaussDB Pioneer Program for the local market, with three packages tailored to different stakeholders:

· Customer Pioneers Package: The first 100 customers to sign up will be granted a one-month free trial of GaussDB, complemented by unwavering support from Huawei Cloud to facilitate a system transition.

· Partner Pioneers Package: The first 100 partners will co-create solutions with Huawei Cloud, sharing in business development opportunities and benefiting from an additional rebate incentive.

· Cloud Native Elite Club (CNEC) Package: The first 100 members to join the Huawei Cloud CNEC will have an exclusive opportunity to engage in monthly events. These events provide a platform for networking with global leaders and partaking in specialised training sessions.

 

Cloud Native Elite Club Branch Announced

Huawei Cloud's Cloud Native Elite Club is a platform global elites share new leapfrog opportunities.

Philip Yuan, Western Cape Regional Director at Huawei Cloud South Africa, initiated CNEC during the forum. Yuan said, "Through CNEC, Huawei Cloud will work with industry organisations, including CNCF and CAICT, to help local enterprises connect to the latest technologies, best practices, and industry trends and achieve digital intelligence."

Philip Yuan, Western Cape Regional Director at Huawei Cloud South Africa

 

Hands-on Lab for Real-Time Interaction with GaussDB

A hands-on lab session allowed more than 30 trainees to experience a guided session through GaussDB's three advanced features. These include one-stop migration, near-data parallel query (NDPQ) and an intelligent assistant. Trainees experienced one-stop migration automation tools called UGO and DRS, to see first-hand how GaussDB reduces manual workloads by over 90%. The NDPQ function improves the performance on complex queries by more than 10 times and with the intelligent assistant, users can obtain answers simply by asking questions.

GaussDB provides comprehensive solutions to remain competitive in the age of cloud and AI. These include high availability, mitigating data loss and inconsistencies while providing critical remote data recovery services. Its leading performance and scalability allow it to handle billions of complex queries in seconds.

The AI-native GaussDB's end-to-end intelligence guarantees five times better diagnosis efficiency. It is fully software-encrypted, earning it the industry’s highest security certifications. Most importantly, GaussDB is easy to deploy and migrate to. There are already over 2 500 Huawei Cloud database deployments across sectors including finance, government, traditional business, internet, and manufacturing to date.

With a strong local presence for 25 years, Huawei remains committed to the country's digital development in line with its mission to "Grow in South Africa and Contribute to South Africa".

Dedicated to embracing the upcoming intelligent world with its all-intelligence strategy, Huawei will continue to provide cutting-edge solutions, with a focus on cloud and AI technologies, to stimulate growth and efficiency, as well as sharpen competitiveness, enhance local collaborations, and propel SA's transformation towards a future digital economy.