Companies across a wide range of sectors are undergoing digitalization to support business growth and improve competitiveness. The financial services sector, which has long been Hong Kong’s forte, is a major arena for this, where companies adopt cutting-edge technology and cloud-based apps to add value to their businesses. As the various major cloud platforms lower costs and provide more services like AI-assisted tools and big data analytics, many companies in the sector have taken up their services, leading to the growth of a multi-cloud environment. 2GoTrade, a broker technology platform provider, is prepared to ride this wave by using HKT SkyExchange Multi-Cloud FAST Connect to link to major public cloud service platforms, enabling faster response to customer queries and paving the way for future app development.
Efficiently Connecting to Multiple Cloud Platforms
Working on mainstream public cloud platform services is relatively straightforward, but when it comes to deployment and uploading of data onto multiple cloud platforms, companies need to spend a significant amount of time analyzing their respective connectivity settings. This is not a trivial task, as incorrect settings could hamper the progress in the cloud service deployment process, potentially delaying project deliverables and schedule.
HKT’s SkyExchange Multi-Cloud FAST Connect service was specifically developed with these challenges in mind. The core objective of this service is to quickly and effectively connect companies to the various mainstream public cloud platforms like Alibaba Cloud, Amazon Web Services(AWS), Google Cloud Platform, IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud via Megaport’s Software Defined Network (SDN) with the help of an experienced technical team. This ensures that data is seamlessly transmitted between the companies’ own IT infrastructure and the major cloud platforms via the HKT SkyExchange network facilities management centre, enabling the companies to fully harness the power of the data analytic tools developed by the cloud platforms, and make use of AI-assisted tools to develop new apps and gain insight on business opportunities.
Prompt Fulfilment of Clients’ Needs
2GoTrade, which has been providing securities companies in Hong Kong with cloud-based brokerage platform services since 2000, recognized the major advantage provided by HKT’s SkyExchange Multi-Cloud FAST Connect: companies can greatly reduce the workload of their IT departments when connecting to the major cloud platform services. It followed naturally that they selected this service. Mr. Jay Law, CEO of 2GoTrade, stated that their decision to adopt this service originated from their clients’ requests.
“A securities company client requested us to connect a plugin stored on Alibaba Cloud to 2GoTrade’s trading system situated at HKT’s SkyExchange network facilities management centre. In the process of resolving this issue, we realized that HKT’s SkyExchange Multi-Cloud FAST Connect service provides rapid connectivity to multiple cloud service platforms, enabling us to promptly satisfy clients’ requests.”
He foresees that there would be more similar requests in the future. “Although our clients use the 2GoTrade trading system in the frontend, they would inevitably have their own apps running in the backend. The current trend is that these apps are shifting to the cloud. After we adopted HKT’s SkyExchange Multi-Cloud FAST Connect, we received great help from their technical team, who provided much input and assistance at all stages of the implementation, from concept, testing, all the way to connecting to Alibaba Cloud. This freed up our staff to focus on R&D and other tasks, relieving us from the tedious work of finding the correct cloud connectivity settings.”
Preparing for the Future
Mr. Law also thinks that with the adoption of HKT’s SkyExchange Multi-Cloud FAST Connect, 2GoTrade will be better prepared should it decide to move to a public cloud platform in the future. “We might consider developing certain unregulated products and services on a public cloud platform, as this helps to reduce hardware investment costs. This service puts the technology within our reach, and would be at our fingertips should we decide to use it.”
2GoTrade’s has always been developing innovative apps and services for clients on top of its core brokerage platform. A good example would be the Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP. Mr. Law mentioned that although the ESOP was late to gain traction in Hong Kong and Asia, it has proven to be an invaluable asset for companies, no matter listed, private or startup, helping them improve talent retention while reducing the workload of accounting and HR functions. Furthermore, startups that have a well-formed employee stock options reward system usually inspire greater confidence in venture capitalists. Another example would be the Virtual Personal Assistant, a Chatbot for securities companies which automates the answering of customer queries.
In parallel, 2GoTrade also plans to use AI and analytic tools themselves to improve their own day-to-day operations and provide faster support to the securities companies. Digitalization and automation are the definite trends of the future, and in the implementation process, it is inefficient for companies to allocate major resources to tedious and manual tasks. Essential services like cloud management and multi-cloud connectivity should be entrusted to HKT, a trustworthy and reliable service provider, making the digitalization and automation journey seamless and painless.
不論行業，企業均透過數碼轉型支持業務增長及維持競爭力。香港尤以金融服務先行，各施各法以新興科技、雲端應用等為業務增值。隨著各大公共雲端平台的使用成本更低，並相繼推出人工智能工具及大數據分析等服務，陸續吸引金融行業採用而發展成多雲端環境。為證券公司提供股票產品交易系統的2GoTrade（易高科技）在大勢來臨之前做好準備，利用HKT SkyExchange Multi-Cloud FAST Connect（多雲連接服務）輕易接通市場上主流的公共雲端平台，快速回應客戶要求，亦為將來開發新應用程式鋪路。
高效地接通多個雲端平台
單純地在公共雲端平台上使用其服務不難，但當涉及多雲端部署及將數據傳送至多個雲端平台時，企業要花上一定時間研究、細閱各雲端平台的連接設定，所消耗的時間真不敢想像。企業別小看這個連接步驟，一旦設定錯誤便拖延後續採用雲端服務的步伐，嚴重可能影響項目未能如期交付等問題。
HKT SkyExchange Multi-Cloud FAST Connect應運而生，旨在透過經驗豐富的技術團隊，快速及有效地幫助企業通過Megaport的全球軟件定義網絡(SDN)連接至市場上主流的公共雲端平台，如Alibaba Cloud、 Amazon Web Services（AWS）、Google Cloud Platform、IBM Cloud、Microsoft Azure及Oracle Cloud等，確保數據順利地在HKT SkyExchange網絡設備管理中心及企業的內部基建跟公共雲端平台之間傳輸，讓企業利用各雲端平台所研發的大數據分析及人工智能工具建立新應用及洞察商機等。
快速滿足客戶要求
早在2000年已在港為本地券商提供雲端交易平台服務的2GoTrade，正正看準HKT SkyExchange Multi-Cloud FAST Connect毋須自己的IT團隊在連接雲端平台時花上大量人力物力的好處而用上這服務。該公司行政總裁羅善康先生表示，選用這服務緣起自客戶提出的要求。
「有證券公司客戶要求將儲存在Alibaba Cloud的外掛應用程式跟2GoTrade設置於SkyExchange 網絡設備管理中心的交易系統連接，在幫助客戶解決這問題時發現HKT SkyExchange Multi-Cloud FAST Connect可提供高速連接至多個雲端服務供應商平台，使我們得以快速回應客戶的要求。」
他亦相信將來會有更多類似的要求。「因客戶雖然前端利用2GoTrade的交易系統，背後總會有自己的應用，這些應用亦有轉移至雲端的趨勢。決定選用HKT SkyExchange Multi-Cloud FAST Connect服務以後，香港電訊的技術人員從概念、測試到實施雲端連接至Alibaba Cloud時也提供了不少建議及幫助，好讓自己能人手集中做研發等事務，不用花精神解決雲端連接設定等耗時的工作。」
為未來做好準備
選用HKT SkyExchange Multi-Cloud FAST Connect服務後，羅善康先生亦認為有利2GoTrade往後採用公共雲端平台做好準備。「未來一些非受監管的產品及服務開發，會考慮在公共雲端上處理，以便減省投資硬件設備的成本，現在透過服務掌握技術，之後想用便可手到拿來。」
事實上，2GoTrade在核心的交易系統上不斷為客戶開發更多創新應用及服務，如員工持股管理平台（Employee Stock Ownership Plan，ESOP）。羅善康表示，ESOP在香港及亞洲較遲起步，但不論上市、私人或初創公司，對留住人才、減輕會計及人事部工作量都有很大幫助。特別是初創公司藉完善的員工持股獎勵系統往往能增加風險投資者的信心。
又或是為證券公司引入數碼個人助理Chatbot功能，讓他們以自動化方式解答客戶的查詢。而2GoTrade本身也計畫利用人工智能分析工具等提升日常營運，加快對證券公司的支援速度。
數碼化、自動化必定是未來的發展路向，今天在數碼轉型過程中，企業沒可能盡攬所有工作，特別是雲端管理及多雲連接等不可缺少的服務，就應交託給HKT可信、可靠的服務供應商，幫助企業輕易實現數碼轉型。