Hangzhou, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- As the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, Alibaba Cloud is experiencing continuous growth alongside its customers across different parts of the world. Over the years, it has made relentless efforts to serve clients from every industry, helping them accelerate their business development and navigate the challenges of these volatile times.

Cloud computing and AI technology have been shown to be the cornerstone for businesses seeking to be fully equipped in the digital era, especially following the global outbreak of COVID-19. At the 12th Apsara Conference: Leap into the Future of Digital Intelligence, customers from various sectors, including aviation, leisure and hospitality, education, and e-commerce and retail, share their growth and success stories achieved together with Alibaba Cloud.

“It is our utmost pleasure to see our customers experience a seamless transition into more digitalised operations,” said Selina Yuan, President for International Business, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence. “As a leading global cloud service provider, we take pride in supporting organizations leverage the advantages of our trusted cloud and AI technology, as they fully unlock the potential of their businesses and develop sustainable growth with us. We will continue to enhance our products and services as we leap into the future of digital intelligence.”

Soar higher

In the face of the complex challenges imposed by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting global travel restrictions, Garuda Indonesia (Garuda), the flag carrier of Indonesia that has been providing air transportation for the last 70 years, has chosen Alibaba Cloud as its trusted cloud service provider, as it is determined to implement digital transformation solutions that will enhance its agility and competitiveness in the aviation industry through improved, reliable and highly efficient IT operations.

Thanks to Alibaba Cloud’s robust database and network technology, as well as its IT architecture design service and advice on resource optimization, the airline has been able to significantly improve the performance and service reliability of its core applications, ranging from ticketing, onboarding, and crew management to customer membership management. Since the migration of its business-critical applications to Alibaba Cloud, Garuda has seen great network latency reduction and improved cost efficiency. The airline also takes a shorter time to release and deploy a new application and has enhanced the efficiency of its overall application operations.

Skip the queue

In Malaysia, Resorts World Genting’s upcoming outdoor theme park Genting SkyWorlds will adopt the Advanced Virtual Queue (VQ) Solution powered by Alibaba Cloud to enhance the customer experience. The VQ Solution is a comprehensive system that leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) and integrates five algorithm modules – Dynamic VQ Slot Prediction, Dynamic Gamification Management, Itinerary Planning, Incentive Recommendation and Crowd Analysis and Prediction. These modules combine to enable more efficient crowd management and to reduce waiting times dynamically.

The solution will allow visitors to plan their entire experience from start to finish before they even reach the theme park. Visitors will be able to download the Genting SkyWorlds’ VQ Mobile App and purchase their tickets online at their convenience. Once the tickets are booked, the VQ Mobile App will allow visitors to plan their itinerary or provide them with an alternative optimised recommended itinerary to offer them a customised experience based on their preferences.

Learn without barriers

Rooted in Singapore, I Can Read (ICR) is an English literacy education service provider for kindergarten and elementary school students across 200 centers and schools in Asia and the Middle East. The organization promotes a uniquely structured curriculum to help children overcome difficulties in reading. One of the biggest challenges faced by the company during the COVID-19 pandemic was the closure of its learning centers in markets where face-to-face classes were prohibited. When trying to move the classes online, ICR encountered several technical barriers – for example, unstable Internet connectivity, the lack of a sound cloud infrastructure, and the need to manually migrate its student database to the designated e-learning platform and re-create more than 7,000 timetables.

To cope with these difficulties, ICR turned to Alibaba Cloud for support. By implementing relevant solutions, such as database storage on cloud and SMS service, the company managed to engage regional customers better with timelier updates on class changes and subsequent arrangements. This has effectively helped the company to stay focused on its business mission of delivering education through both online and offline channels.

Integrate the marketplace, offline and online

WEMART is one of the largest Asian supermarket chains in the Middle East. Its bricks and mortar storefronts have been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, while its online business volume has increased sharply, pressuring the company to better consolidate its offline and online resources and accelerate its digital transformation.

To power its next phase of growth, WEMART chose to tie up with Alibaba Cloud, which offered a comprehensive online-to-offline shopping solution that combines the strengths of an in-store experience with digital marketing, supporting the operation flow by managing payment gateways, transaction processing and customer membership. In addition, the customer experience was enhanced by other features that came with the solution. For example, the AliMe chatbot, an AI-powered virtual assistant, can handle 60-70% of consumer queries and after-sales service requests on a 24/7 basis, narrowing the communication gap between the retailer and its buyers and greatly improving both operational efficiency and consumer responsiveness.