South China Morning Post is a leading news media company that has reported on China and Asia for more than a century with global impact. Founded in 1903, SCMP is headquartered in Hong Kong, where it is the city’s newspaper of record. SCMP reaches users across distributed media platforms including scmp.com, smartphone and tablet apps, social media and messaging platforms, as well as its flagship newspaper. Additionally, SCMP is Asia’s leading magazine publisher with a portfolio of premium lifestyle and fashion titles including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Esquire, Harper’s and BAZAAR. SCMP is also home to cpjobs.com, a big data-powered recruitment platform that matches jobseekers with their dream job.

Intense market competition, the rise of digital media and the decline of the traditional newspaper have all created obstacles to SCMP’s continued success. New media consumption patterns and behaviors such as internet-based web/apps, tablets, and social media have emphasized the importance of digital media. At the same time, more and more media outlets have moved their business online. SCMP searched for solutions to “go global” expand their coverage and readership overseas to fuel future growth, transform the traditional newspaper to modernized digital media, enhance customer experiences online, create a big data warehousing and analytics tool that facilitates decision making and increases online revenue.

SCMP utilized Alibaba Cloud to migrate existing IT infrastructure to the cloud, deployed multi-channel content management, content delivery, data warehousing, as well as implemented steps for cross-regional communication. SCMP migrated its flagship website’s frontend and backend systems to Alibaba Cloud’s Hong Kong region for highly available, cost efficiency and fault-tolerant architecture. By deploying a multi-channel content management system to facilitate content authoring and publishing through different channels including web and mobile devices, SCMP can efficiently manage content created anywhere in the world. SCMP leverages both private and public clouds to extend business, operations, and reach globally. Support cross-region business expansion by leveraging Alibaba Cloud’s Express Connect to establish a virtual private circuit between Hong Kong and Hangzhou regions in a cost effective and flexible way. The same methodology can be adopted to support future business growth in other Alibaba Cloud regions, such as the U.S. and other cities around the world. Consolidate and integrate business data from approximately 20 system data silos across 18 business units into a centralized data warehouse to serve as enterprise data management platform.

Alibaba Cloud provided SCMP with four areas of increased efficiency. First, SCMPs digitalization enhances user experiences on digital marketing channels that are both reliable and secure. Second, SMCP’s steps towards internationalization were raised. By leveraging Alibaba Cloud’s global coverage, SCMP’s content can reach anywhere in the world via virtual dedicated cross regional lines. Third, SCMP’s enterprise-wide data platform provides business insights for decision-making. Finally, Alibaba Cloud allows SCMP to cut down on operational costs, while supporting business growth and increased demand.