, Columnist
Alibaba’s Covid-19 Crisis Response Is in the Cloud
China’s e-commerce giant takes a strategic page from the Amazon playbook, but lags behind rival Tencent.
The consumer story may have run its course.
Photographer: Chesnot/Getty Images
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Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is doubling down on its cloud strategy with a $28 billion increase in spending over the next three years. Ignore for a moment that huge number, and turn instead to what this says about the e-commerce company’s priorities.
China’s largest technology company is essentially admitting that the consumer story may have run its course, and the future is in business services. That’s a savvy move.