- Rewarding Innovation at Huawei
Company background
Huawei is a global leader in the information and com- munication technology (ICT)
industry. Founded in 1987, it is a private company wholly owned by its employees.
The company has grown from a small start-up based in Shenzhen, China to become
a leading global technol- ogy company providing telecom network equipment, IT
products and solutions and smart devices for telecom carriers, enterprises, and
consumers in over 170 countries. In 2015 Huawei ranked 228th in the Global Fortune
500 index based on revenues of approximately CNY 288,197 million (USD$ 45 billion).
It is now the largest supplier of telecom infrastructure, software, and ser- vices in the
world and its, major competitors include Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE, Alcatel-Lucent and
Cisco (The Economist, 2012, 2014; Reuters, 2014).
As illustrated in Figure 6.4, Huawei emphasises innovation relevant to customer needs
and advancing its technological leadership through research and development (R&D).
Over 10 per cent of the company’s annual sales revenue is invested in R&D, an activity
that employs more than 45 per cent of its 170,000 employees. The company openly
cooperates with its industry partners to build efficient and integrated digital logistics
systems that enhance interconnectivity and interactivity and strives to be the ‘first
choice and best partner’ for telecom carriers and enterprise customers and a brand of
choice for consumers. An advocate of sustainability, the company supports the
development of secure and stable network operations and helps customers and
industries improve efficiency and low-carbon economic growth. According to Huawei,
its international growth strategy, promoting ‘glocalized’ operations, aims to localise its
operations in the countries it operates, whilst simultaneously building a strong global
value chain.
Building a Better Connected World