What does innovation mean to one of the fastest growing smartphone brands in the world? Chris Sun Baigong Vice President of Huawei Honor in the Middle East, gives us his thoughts.

Think Big. Blue sky thinking. Game-changing. These are words synonymous with innovation, particularly in such a fast moving and evolving region such as the Middle East. And that is the aim of the game isn’t it? Not necessarily. Having that approach from the start could be very limiting and could stifle that creative freedom that is needed for Dubai to become the next Silicon Valley.

For us at Huawei Honor it is just as important to think small, think every day and think about the facilitation and enhancement of our lifestyles – this is where we think the future lies and what we are expecting from Innovation Week. We think ‘User-centricity’, ‘interaction’ and ‘internet mind-set’ are the core of innovation. What is going to make things easier for the consumer? What do people like doing the most and how can we help enhance that for them? These are questions that we ask, rather than innovating for innovations sake. We also closely listen to the feedback that our consumers provide us through our online platforms which we can then utilise in our own innovative process. We think the end user is the key to our future as a company and one that all successful future companies, entrepreneurs and innovators here in the Middle East should prioritise.

What we have found is that this approach to developing our technology and products for the end consumer has led to synchronicity, convenience and simplification rather than bigger, better and more complex. Honor’s innovation is customer centric. It does not rush to increase its product portfolio but consistently listens to the customers’ feedback and uses their requirements as a basis for product iteration and product development.

Take a look at the way in which people are now ‘living online’. We know that in this region people like to spend time researching their smartphone purchases, and in fact eight in ten people in Saudi Arabia use their mobile device to research their new one - this is especially true of younger users who are the most likely to live their lives online. The fact that Honor is an e-commerce only brand driven by people who are natives of the digital world is no accident. We are focused on providing cutting edge, innovative products to those who breathe and live online like we do. The online environment is very fast-moving, which is the main challenge for Honor. We are an adaptable brand which not only accepts new things and learns new technologies but also drives the innovation from the forefront.  

At Huawei Honor we not only relish, but champion, the rapid pace at which the UAE is evolving and how it has become an established business and technology hub. As a new brand to the region we were attracted to the opportunity for innovation and openness for change. The future of innovation in the Middle East is bright, particularly where consumers are concerned. As an international brand we aim to be a part of the growth here both in support and separate to our mother brand Huawei, which recently announced its own plans together with Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI) to establish the ‘Huawei Innovation Centre’ in Dubai.

From our perspective as Honor, we will put even more focus on users’ shopping experience at the click of a mouse, and will enhance and innovate in terms of logistics, customer service and supply chain making the customers’ purchasing experience even easier. In regards to our product for the end user, we will focus our development and innovation more value-adding services for a better experience and we are excited to deliver this over the coming months.

We look to Innovation Week as a platform for people to be inspired and take advantage of this wonderfully connected digital world that we live in.