Lily Fu leads Motorola Solutions' efforts to strengthen China's criticial communications sector

The China unit of Motorola Solutions Inc, the US-based multinational specializing in data communications and telecoms equipment, has been buzzing with hectic activity of late.

Motorola's local arm, led by Lily Fu, general manager, has been aligning itself with the country's economic transformation from an export-oriented manufacturing giant to a consumption-driven economy.

That meant Motorola had to figure out how its expertise in areas like two-way digital portable radios and related services could strengthen China.

Motorola products are used in a wide range of fields such as oil and petrochemicals, transportation, forest protection, hospitality and public safety. It was among the first technology MNCs to set up an office on the Chinese mainland in 1987.

Motorola's current avatar took shape in 2011 when US technology giant Motorola Inc bifurcated its business into the mobile phone division Motorola Mobility (later acquired by China's Lenovo from Google Inc) and the equipment division Motorola Solutions.

With innovation-powered fields like artificial intelligence, cloud computing and big data becoming industry buzzwords in China now, Motorola is exploring how it could plug into the current scene and continue to play.

"For a multinational, it is of great importance to learn the latest changes in local markets and the demands from local consumers, and then send the information to headquarters and mobilize resources, in order to support the needs of local markets," Fu said.

She is driving Motorola's China strategy as the country moves toward mobile intelligence. In the process, Motorola itself is transforming from a manufacturer of critical communications equipment to an integrated solution provider.

"In the past, we defined ourselves as a hardware equipment producer. Now, we are aiming to ensure people stay safer and we let them work more effectively in the critical communications sector."

In the past, people used high-quality communication system in times of crisis, but with the rapid development of technology, Motorola is building an entire ecosystem focused on intelligent mobility, Fu said.

The current challenges are making Motorola bullish on China where it sees plenty of opportunities, particularly from the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20).

By 2020, the average compound annual growth rate for the digital mobile radio sector would reach 6 percent, she said.

"We are looking forward to providing a comprehensive end-to-end solution by integrating critical communication technologies with big data, cloud computing, virtual reality and AI to help people forecast the potential risks actively, to reduce possible losses and enhance working efficiency," Fu said.

Toward this end, Motorola will continue to increase its R&D and innovation resources and enhance the features of its digital mobile radio portfolio. "R&D spending now accounts for about 10 percent of our revenue," she said.

Fu Liang, an independent telecom expert, said Motorola has traditional strength in the two-way radio field, but faces competition from local companies such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp, which are making rapid strides in radio communication network technologies.

So, it is vital for Motorola to entrust its future development direction and strategy to the local team, and find suitable talent to strengthen it continuously.

This would mean underlining the idea of "putting people first", Fu said. "I love to work together with talented people, bearing in mind each person's distinct personality and gifts."

She is well placed to accomplish that challenge, given her more than 25 years of experience in both high-tech and communications sectors, and exposure to thousands of extremely talented professionals.

In the past, she held roles across sales, strategy, channels and business development at MNCs such as Avaya, Alcatel Lucent and Philips Lighting.

"In my spare time, I love to play tennis and golf. We need to be persistent and continue to strive for victory in our career too. I can learn these qualities from sports, and understand how to tackle setbacks and challenges," Fu said.