FENC: Streamlining cross-border operations with generative AI and global infrastructure
Enables 99% system availability with global cloud infrastructure
Enhances infrastructure scalability by 20% with 30% lower cost through Google Cloud VMware Engine
Helps reduce carbon emissions by 30% with net-zero data centers
Simplifies AI model development and deployment for faster innovation with Vertex AI
Drives up operational efficiency across departments with Gemini
FENC leverages the global infrastructure and generative AI capabilities of Google Cloud to streamline its cross-border operations, reaching higher cost-effectiveness and work efficiency while reducing carbon emissions.
FENC leverages the global infrastructure and generative AI capabilities of Google Cloud to streamline its cross-border operations, reaching higher cost-effectiveness and work efficiency while reducing carbon emissions.
Far Eastern New Century (FENC) is one of the most internationally renowned Taiwanese companies. Founded in 1942, FENC started as a textile manufacturer and gradually became a global conglomerate by expanding its business into various sectors, including cement, petrochemistry, maritime transport, retail, finance and telecommunications.
Through investments and acquisitions, FENC currently has more than 200 affiliated companies around the world. Gilbert Yi, Chief Information Security Officer at FENC, notes that FENC’s global expansion allows it to provide localized services by being closer to customers, and optimize its supply chains by merging resources in different countries.
“Holding our company’s core values ‘sincerity, diligence, thrift, prudence and innovation’, we’re dedicated to offering outstanding products and services across industries. The benefits we’ve gained from our global expansion are eventually transferred to our customers and consumers,” he adds.
Becoming a multinational conglomerate is not a journey without challenges. At first, FENC deployed its foreign affiliated companies’ internal management systems in local data centers. This decentralized IT management model resulted in high costs and compliance complexity. At the same time, since FENC’s IT team was based in Taiwan, it was sometimes not able to react timely when technical issues arose, leading to operational disruptions.
To overcome these obstacles, FENC in 2022 decided to move its foreign affiliated companies’ internal systems and databases to a global cloud platform. The conglomerate eventually chose Google Cloud because of its cost-effective infrastructure, expansive global network, and commitment to sustainability.
“To ensure the smoothness of our cross-border operations and data security compliance across countries, we needed to run our internal systems on a cloud platform that is available and compliant in various regions,” explains Yi. “Besides meeting our needs with its flexible and secure infrastructure tools, Google Cloud can also help us reach our ESG goals by providing net-zero data centers.”
Besides meeting our needs with its flexible and secure infrastructure tools, Google Cloud can also help us reach our ESG goals by providing net-zero data centers.
Gilbert Yi
Chief Information Security Officer, FENC
A more scalable, cost-effective cloud infrastructure with less carbon footprint
In early 2023, FENC moved its US business entity’s core business systems from on-premise servers to Google Cloud using migration and backup solutions available in the Google Cloud marketplace like Google Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions and Veeam. Microfusion, a Google Cloud partner, helped FENC lay out a detailed migration plan and has been providing 24/7 technical support since then. The whole migration process was completed without causing any disruptions to FENC’s operations.
“With their profound expertise in cloud computing, Microfusion greatly facilitated our migration to Google Cloud. Its team not only supported our smooth transition, but also helped us build a comprehensive monitoring mechanism to prevent technical issues,” Yi says.
FENC employs Google Cloud VMware Engine as its infrastructure backbone and has reached 99 percent system availability and 20 percent higher scalability. Before the migration, it required FENC’s IT team several weeks or months to add new servers, dragging down FENC’s agility. Now, the team only needs a few minutes to scale up computing resources and swiftly fulfill new business needs. Apart from ensuring data compliance and high-standard security through measures like encryption and strict access control, Google Cloud has also helped FENC reduce 30 percent of carbon emissions with its net-zero data centers.
By leveraging Google Cloud VMware Engine and other Google Cloud infrastructure solutions, we’re able to streamline our cross-border operations and grasp business opportunities timely with a centralized management and monitoring system.
Gilbert Yi
Chief Information Security Officer, FENC
“By leveraging Google Cloud VMware Engine and other Google Cloud infrastructure solutions, we’re able to streamline our cross-border operations and grasp business opportunities timely with a centralized management and monitoring system,” notes Yi. “Through resource optimization and the pay-as-you-go scheme of Google Cloud, we’ve reduced our IT costs by 30 percent.”
Enhancing work efficiency across departments with Vertex AI
Since migrating to Google Cloud, FENC has been using artificial intelligence- (AI-) powered Google Cloud Observability agents to automate IT operations. Having seen its decision-making process improved by AI, FENC wanted to tap into more complex AI solutions to enhance productivity across all its departments. After comparing similar offerings, the team landed on Vertex AI because of its mature technology, high-level privacy protection and developer-friendliness.
In a short period of time, Vertex AI has helped us significantly enhance work efficiency, facilitate multilingual services and collaboration, as well as improve business results. Thanks to its developer-friendly tools, we can easily realize our new ideas and explore the unlimited possibility of AI.
Gilbert Yi
Chief Information Security Officer, FENC
As Vertex AI offers diverse machine learning tools and pre-trained models, the FENC team can quickly develop and deploy new AI solutions. Within a few months, the team has launched nearly a dozen AI solutions for internal use. For example, FENC’s human resources department uses an AI model trained by Multimodal AI to reduce carbon footprint registry and inquiry time by 30 percent to promote the company’s sustainability initiatives. Its international affairs department leverages an AI search model to help FENC’s employees look up each country’s customs tariff 40 percent faster. By employing Vertex AI to automate risk control, FENC’s finance department has effectively lowered fraud risks for the conglomerate.
Furthermore, FENC utilizes the Gemini model in Vertex AI to build virtual assistants that provide multilingual customer services, reply to employees’ administrative questions, and generate personalized greeting cards for its customers. Overall, its operational efficiency has increased by 30-40 percent.
“In a short period of time, Vertex AI has helped us significantly enhance work efficiency, facilitate multilingual services and collaboration, as well as improve business results,” notes Yi. “Thanks to its developer-friendly tools, we can easily realize our new ideas and explore the unlimited possibility of AI.”
Transforming into a smarter, more efficient global conglomerate
Next, FENC will continue deepening and systemizing its use of AI by building an internal AI portal and an AI management mechanism that meets the ISO42001 standard, and realizing more use scenarios, including AI-assisted contract review for its legal department, as well as AI-powered CV screening for its human resources department. Following its US entity’s successful adoption of the Google Cloud infrastructure, FENC plans to implement the same migration in other regions like Southeast Asia, and leverage BigQuery to analyze the business data of its enterprise resource planning systems for data-driven decision-making.
“The cloud infrastructure and AI capabilities of Google Cloud have helped us effectively enhance our operational efficiency across regions and departments,” notes Yi. “We’re confident that we can rely on Google Cloud to further optimize our operations and become a fully data-driven, AI-powered global enterprise.”
The cloud infrastructure and AI capabilities of Google Cloud have helped us effectively enhance our operational efficiency across regions and departments. We’re confident that we can rely on Google Cloud to further optimize our operations and become a fully data-driven, AI-powered global enterprise.
Gilbert Yi
Chief Information Security Officer, FENC
Established in 1942, Far Eastern New Century (FENC) is a conglomerate headquartered in Taiwan. Beginning as a textile manufacturer, FENC has expanded its business into multiple sectors, from cement, telecommunications, to finance, with more than 200 affiliated companies across continents. Dedicated to offering outstanding products and services, FENC started leveraging cloud and AI technologies to optimize its operations in 2022.
Industry: Manufacturing and Industrial
Location: Taiwan
Products: Vertex AI, Google Cloud VMware Engine, Multimodal AI
About Google Cloud partner — Microfusion
Microfusion is a Taiwanese cloud service provider founded in 2007 that is focused on offering one-stop solutions and consulting with its professional architects and maintenance team to assist customers in cloud migration, IT infrastructure modernization, and data analytics. Having worked with more than 2,000 customers from the public and private sectors, Microfusion is a top service provider for digital transformation across various industries.
