Visitors from around the globe attend Cloud China 2014

Visitors look at Window's booth at Cloud China 2014,a three-day exhibition in Beijing,on March 4, 2014. [Cai Muyuan / chinadaily.com.cn]

Cloud China 2014, a three-day exhibition focused on promoting applications of cloud computing, optimizing the environment of information consumption and pushing forward the development of a smart city, ended in Beijing on March 7.

Representatives of governments, enterprises and business associations from all over the world participated in the event, which was organized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Advisory Committee for State Informatization.

Zhou Zixue, chief economist of the MIIT, said at the opening forum that China's cloud computing industry is developing fast but also faces problems related to safety and technology.

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"MIIT will enhance financial and regulatory support and increase investment in scientific research in the cloud computing industry," he also said.

Shen Yuanqing, chief operating officer of Microsoft Corp's Asia-Pacific R&D group, said that there are many forums in China about cloud computing and they serve as an excellent platform for the government, research institutes and companies.

"Safety, privacy and authorization are the three undeniable features of cloud computing", Shen also said. "Medium and large scale enterprises and the government are still cautious in adopting cloud computing, so different kinds of authorization modes should be developed to cater to different services in this industry."

"The domestic cloud computing market is huge and has been very open in recent years", Shen added. "I appreciate platforms like this exhibition today and hope Chinese companies can have a say in formulating industry regulations. I also hope that the government will increase its efforts to adopt cloud computing with highly confidential information - which will greatly help the development of the industry."

Windows started a test operation of Windows Azure in China last May and it now has about 8,000 users. "Even though we are still running a test operation, we have started partial commercial operations. We have finished the developing process of Windows Azure and it is now entering Chinese market", said Shen.

International Data Corporation (IDC) – a global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets - said more than 70 percent of companies around the world are expected to adopt hybrid cloud, and Shen said that more companies are adopting business-level storage and email services using hybrid cloud and public cloud.

Seagate Technology, one of the world's largest manufacturers of hard disk drives, sees China as its strategic focus for its cloud computing services.

And Sun Dan, president of Seagate China region, said that the company is working with its Chinese clients to build a green and intelligent cloud computing system.

"Seagate is stepping up its competitiveness in the Chinese market by offering clients various cloud storage products," Sun said.