Huawei gets into bed with Oracle to help flog IoT to utilities

Selling smart-metering IoT cleverness into utilities requires some serious corporate muscle, so two of the biggest have decided to create a dream team.

Huawei loves an MoU (memorandum of understanding), so much so that it literally makes a ceremony out of signing them (pictured). The latest one involves US enterprise software giant Oracle, in a welcome sign that Sino-American business relationships remain indifferent to protectionist sabre-rattling from excitable politicians.

The MoU specifically refers to Huawei’s AMI solution, launched in late 2015, and a few Oracle products designed to provide utility to utilities. AMI stands for Advanced Metering Infrastructure and is positioned as an IoT way of automating things like meter readings, line loss calculations and other billing challenges.

Inevitably the term ‘end-to-end’ makes regular, robust appearances in the explanation of why this ‘Power IoT Ecosystem Partnership’ is such a great idea. Combining Huawei’s IoT nous with Oracle’s utilities presence will, we’re told, offer all kinds of handy things like better customer service, improved efficiency, etc.

“Huawei is very glad to establish a favorable cooperation relationship with Oracle in connected smart grid territory,” said Huawei Energy Solution Managing Director, Cong Peijin. “We plan to increase strategic investment in solution construction, market expansion projects and joint marketing, conduct the cooperation deeply and consistently, and to finally achieve a win-win business situation.”

“Oracle is looking forward to working together with Huawei in marketing, sales and technology to take the AMI Solution into the target sectors,” said Oracle Greater China Regional Senior Director Sales, Stuart Shaw. “Huawei along with Oracle’s utility and customer experience will jointly approach the customer opportunity and achieve a win-win business situation.”

Oracle already has a well-established partner network to help third parties flog its stuff. Generally you associate this sort of thing with smaller channel players, but maybe that’s changing. It will be interesting to see if Huawei gets more into partnerships, especially with the Ericsson/Cisco one finally starting to bear fruit.

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