The road to digital transformation is paved with good intentions, but little else to show for the efforts of those who've embarked on the quest alone – particularly in emerging markets like Africa.

That seems to be the overall sentiment at CeBIT 2017 taking place in Hannover, Germany this week.

Multinational ICT solutions firm Huawei Technologies used the global platform to underline the expansion of its OpenLab Program and said it would develop 15 new OpenLabs based on a US$200m investment over 3 years.

In 2017, Huawei will build 7 new OpenLabs located in cities including London, UK, Paris, France, Moscow, Russia and Johannesburg, South Africa.

Although the company did not specify the exact focus of the Johannesburg OpenLab, the company has emphasised the role of IoT, big data and the cloud in emerging markets including Africa.

This brings the total number of OpenLabs to 12 and by the end of 2019, Huawei plans to increase this number to 20.

The OpenLabs facilitate joint innovation and solution launches with more than 400 partners across key sectors, Smart City, finance, transportation, energy, manufacturing and media sectors.

The Chinese tech firm has established partnerships with 80 solutions partners, many of whom were represented at CeBIT 2017.

This partnership ecosystem, underpinned by Huawei's 'Platform + Ecosystem' strategy, is key to implementing joint innovations and broadening industry alliances to help tackle challenges, the company states.

Victor Yu, President of Industry Marketing & Solution Department of Huawei Enterprise Business Group, said, "Challenges within a future smart society cannot be tackled alone, they demand cooperation within the ICT industry and with relevant partners. Initiatives such as the Global OpenLab Program demonstrate Huawei's commitment to providing the building blocks of an ICT ecosystem in this smart society, and driving continuous industrial and social progress through strategic alliances."

One of the main avenues of collaboration that Huawei is looking to leverage going forward is the established Cloud Enterprise Communications alliance, inclusive of channel partners, including channel partners eSDK, Developer Zone, API and MAR.

This ecosystem incorporates 1,500 global channels for enterprise communications, 36 joint innovation centres and 5 open labs.

Partners have said that the next three to five years will be telling in terms of market competition and that certainly in terms of Europe, Huawei will surprise competitors as far as its growth and strength in the market is concerned.

At the CeBIT Global Conferences CEO Keynote, Diana Yuan, President of Marketing and Solutions Sales Department, Huawei Enterprise Business Group, said: "Our 'Platform' emphasises cloud-pipe-device synergy, while our 'Ecosystem' is customer-centric and focuses on creating a mutually beneficial environment for sustainable development. Huawei implements the 'Platform + Ecosystem' strategy and works closely with customers and partners to help them embrace the digital era by leveraging the solid and rich experiences and capabilities gained from our own digital transformation."