Tencent Cloud Takes Aim at Global Dominance with WeChat’s Super App Ecosystem
In the cutthroat world of cloud services, Chinese tech giant Tencent is carving out a niche for itself by leveraging its WeChat super-app ecosystem. Tencent Cloud CEO Dowson Tong revealed that more clients are interested in creating their own super apps, a service Tencent Cloud offers by sharing its technology and operational experience gained from establishing the WeChat ecosystem.
What Sets Tencent Apart?
Tong emphasized that this unique offering sets Tencent apart from dominant global cloud service players like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud Platform, which collectively hold 68% of the market share. Super app platforms are often developed using cloud infrastructure to provide scalability, reliability, and efficient resource management.
Mini Programs on WeChat’s Network
Many of Tencent’s cloud services clients are keen on building their own mini programs on WeChat’s network to attract existing users of the super app to their services. The financial and government sectors make up the majority of this interest pool. For instance, Cambodia’s Canadia Bank partnered with Tencent Cloud to launch a new mobile banking app in 2023.
The Power of Super Apps
A super app is an application that functions as a one-stop shop for multiple offerings — from messaging to payment transactions to ordering food, among other services. WeChat, the world’s largest super app, boasts around 1.3 billion active monthly users, or around 90% of China’s total population.
Global Competitors Lag Behind
While global competitors like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft offer a range of services to their clients, these are typically spread across several platforms and applications rather than available on an all-encompassing platform like WeChat.
The Cloud Industry’s Perspective
Wei Sun, principal analyst at Counterpoint Research, noted that while Tencent’s super app ecosystem is unique, it may not be the be-all and end-all in the cloud space. Cloud clients prioritize infrastructure reliability, scalability, security, and compliance over integrated consumer-facing applications.
Added Value of Super Apps
However, Sun acknowledged that there is “definitely massive added-value” for having a super app that can accumulate integrated user data to enhance clients’ data flywheel.
Tencent’s Competitive Edge
On top of leveraging its super app expertise, Tong said that Tencent Cloud’s active integration of clients’ public cloud resources with on-premise private resources is also something that helps them become competitive against international cloud providers, which tend to focus on public cloud.
Leave a Reply