In 2021, the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced ASUS as Taiwan's Best International Brand. This journey has been both glorious and arduous, with a brand value of US$1.871 billion representing a long and meticulous transformation process. Particularly in smart manufacturing, ASUS has not only become a representative of Taiwan's manufacturing transformation but has also translated its three-step transformation strategy into a variety of hardware and software services. Through its AIoT business group, ASUS Cloud, and ASUS Cloud, it has extended innovative services to help more Taiwanese manufacturers realize their smart manufacturing vision.
Part One: ASUS Upgrades its Smart Manufacturing to Rebuild Brand Value
"ASUS's smart manufacturing strategy can be viewed from two aspects: 'internal' and 'external'," said Peng Kai-hsiang, director of ASUS's AIoT Business Group. He pointed out that in 2009, ASUS decided to focus on brand development. Since product quality and time-to-market are the most important aspects of brand management, ASUS believed that it should strengthen its capabilities in this area after smart manufacturing became a trend in 2013.
A series of initiatives followed. Internally, ASUS established an AI team of over 200 people to empower its production lines. Externally, ASUS extended its reach to the supply chain. ASUS has over 300 suppliers across industries including metal processing, plastic molding, and electronic assembly—three key sectors in Taiwan's manufacturing industry. Through the implementation of ASUS's smart manufacturing solutions, supply chain management efficiency can be further improved.
Peng Kaixiang gave an example: In the past, suppliers had to do OQC (Outbound Quality Control) before shipping goods, and ASUS would then do IQC (Inbound Quality Control) upon receiving the goods. "This back-and-forth repetitive quality inspection consumed a lot of time and resources. After implementing ASUS's solution, because the quality inspection work is completed in the same system, the data is consistent and reliable, so there is no need to do the same thing again, thus improving efficiency."
After continuous implementation and validation in internal manufacturing environments and external supplier management systems, ASUS's smart manufacturing solution has achieved a high degree of usability, assisting manufacturers in driving digital transformation. However, production line systems are highly specialized, and the industrial environment differs from other industries, making it challenging to complete smart transformation in a short period. To address this, ASUS utilizes its cloud platform to help manufacturers successfully implement smart architectures.
Part Two: Launching the Taizhi Cloud Service Platform, a fully cloud-native public cloud service provider.
2019 was a pivotal year for ASUS in developing cloud-related technologies and businesses. Wu Hanzhang, General Manager of ASUS Cloud and Taiwan Smart Cloud, pointed out that ASUS had already made arrangements in the cloud field, but previously it was all about cloud deployment for service product users.
In 2019, ASUS assisted the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) of the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL) in building Taiwan's supercomputer "Taiwan Cedar 2," further accumulating professional capabilities in AI and cloud integration. ASUS then materialized these capabilities by investing in and establishing Taiwan Smart Cloud (TWCloud). Unlike ASUS's existing cloud platforms, TWCloud is a public cloud service provider fully compliant with cloud-native concepts and architecture implementation. He further explained, "TWCloud can provide various intelligent services needed by the manufacturing industry based on the high-speed computing of AIHPC."
Using the highest-level computing specifications, we will compete with the market.
"Taizhi Cloud's AIHPC high-speed computing has three major advantages: high efficiency, low barrier to entry, and energy saving and carbon reduction.Wu Hanzhang pointed out that due to its adoption of a fully native AIHPC architecture, Taizhi Cloud boasts top-tier computing resources, storage capacity, and network speed. Furthermore, its user-friendly interface and on-demand cloud services allow manufacturers to easily get started. In terms of energy conservation and carbon reduction, Taizhi Cloud achieves energy savings of up to 48%, assisting enterprises in promoting ESG. These three advantages, combined with Taizhi Cloud's blockchain applications, big data analytics, federated learning, machine learning, and cybersecurity services, enable manufacturers to smoothly implement smart technology deployments.
Wu Hanzhang also pointed out that the unique feature and value of Taizhiyun lies in its ability to solve various problems for frontline manufacturers. Whether it's data integration or supply chain management, Taizhiyun has the capability to assist. For example, a global manufacturer faced challenges due to its dispersed factories, resulting in data incompatibility between plants and the lack of a unified platform. Furthermore, insufficient training of production line personnel led to poor defect detection efficiency. "Later, this client used Taizhiyun's OneAI hybrid cloud solution to upload data from each factory to the cloud and connected the factories using a unified instrument, enabling data sharing and unified control of the defect detection system."
Another case involves supply chain management. This manufacturer, burdened by a vast amount of supply chain data and highly confidential pricing and material preparation information, struggled to accurately determine material preparation strategies, leading to either material shortages or excessive inventory. To address this issue, Taizhi Cloud provided BaaS and AI technologies. BaaS, a blockchain cloud platform, leverages the decentralized and immutable nature of blockchain to upload supply chain and supplier information to the blockchain. Orders can then be modified via digital signatures, and the updated information is aggregated into big data, serving as a basis for AI training to predict inventory demand.
Part Three: Strengthening Cloud-Based Cybersecurity Quality, and Ensuring Rock-Solid Foundations
In addition to various value-added services, cybersecurity is also a key issue for the manufacturing industry in adopting smart systems. "In recent years, there have been frequent incidents of OT systems being hacked, and the manufacturing industry is paying more and more attention to cybersecurity protection," said Chin Ching-po, General Manager of ASUS Computer Server Business Unit and Chief Cybersecurity Officer.
Chin Ching-po stated that the Internet of Things (IoT) architecture, which relies on a large number of interconnected devices, will inevitably become a cybersecurity vulnerability for businesses if it lacks a robust defense strategy and mechanism. "In particular, if Taiwan's technology manufacturing industry, which accounts for 30% of Taiwan's GDP, is easily compromised, it will cause significant losses." To strengthen cybersecurity mechanisms, the government has had a comprehensive plan over the past 20 years, and industries also attach great importance to it. With the joint defense strategy between industry and government, he believes that Taiwan's cybersecurity strength is no less than that of European and American countries.
ASUS has long been involved in the cloud business and places great emphasis on cybersecurity. "We established an internal information security committee spanning multiple departments a long time ago, with members including three board members, to discuss cybersecurity strategies every month." Later, the information security committee established a digital security department within ASUS. In addition to promoting policies, it also internalized feedback from the front end into product design. "Previously, our slogan was 'ASUS quality is as solid as a rock,' and now we hope that our security can also be as solid as a rock."
While strengthening cybersecurity mechanisms, ASUS Cloud has recently extended its zero-trust data management capabilities from cloud storage to the eight national industrial bases proposed by the government, such as finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. ASUS OmniStor serves as a private cloud file storage and collaboration platform for medium and large enterprise customers, assisting them in building a zero-trust file protection strategy from aspects such as ransomware protection, prevention of critical data leakage, and secure file sharing.
Chin Ching-po went on to say that in the past, OT systems in the manufacturing industry only had a first line of defense, and the security mechanisms behind that wall were very vulnerable. Once compromised, the breach could spread rapidly. However, the key foundation for the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry is cybersecurity. From IT supply chain collaboration file sharing and management to OT production line data applications, the principle should be to build a multi-layered file defense architecture to protect critical data and strengthen digital resilience.
"ASUS OmniStor adopts a vertical defense approach, designing various mechanisms within the system's process architecture to block virus attacks layer by layer." It has an independent management platform that can integrate enterprise Active Directory, control access permissions, and save file traces, enabling real-time reporting to meet organizational needs. Especially to meet legal compliance requirements, new system platforms also need to incorporate relevant functions to align with the principles of secure collaboration within enterprises.
ASUS's Future: Continuing to Focus on the Technological and Commercial Impact of AI, 5G, and Blockchain
Regarding suggestions for the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry, Wu Hanzhang believes that cloud computing is an inevitable trend, and enterprises can choose a suitable cloud architecture according to their own needs. "Due to the large amount of critical data in the manufacturing industry, such as product formulas and machine parameters, there are bound to be concerns about moving everything to the cloud. Using hybrid cloud for data classification is currently the mainstream approach for most companies." He also reminded companies to closely observe the three major technologies: AI, 5G, and blockchain. 5G's high-speed transmission will enable faster data convergence between cloud and ground systems, while AI can provide a variety of intelligent services. The integration of these two technologies will give manufacturing systems a completely new look. As for blockchain, which has been discussed for many years, it has begun to be implemented in recent years. Blockchain technology, with its immutable characteristics, can significantly reduce trust costs in the supply chain and optimize management efficiency. As mentioned earlier, ASUS has already combined this technology with the cloud and has relevant successful cases. ASUS is gradually strengthening its R&D efforts for AI, 5G, and blockchain technologies, and will integrate them with various services in the future to help the manufacturing industry build a smart and secure cloud platform.
Source:Science and Technology DailyImage source: Shutterstock