The ancient Chinese mythical beast, the Qilin, has inspired numerous names in the domestic IT industry, such as Qilin Software, Tianjin Qilin, Qilin HiSilicon, Ubuntu Kylin, Qilin Information Security, Galaxy Kylin, and the Kylin Operating System. These names represent both companies and product brands, yet many people are unclear about the distinctions and respective businesses of these ‘Kylins’. This article aims to help readers clarify the differences among these ‘Kylins’ and introduce their respective businesses. Firstly, Huawei (HiSilicon) Kylin refers to the domestic smartphone chip brand under Huawei. Huawei (HiSilicon) Kylin primarily engages in chip business, with its Kylin series chips leading the domestic smartphone operating system market. The market feedback on Kylin chips has been very positive, and they have also secured a place in international competition. In contrast, Qualcomm’s chip performance in recent years has been disappointing, while Huawei’s Kylin 8 series and 9000 series have brought many surprises to the market. In fact, the technical strength of Kylin chips can even rival that of internationally renowned chip brands. Huawei began laying the groundwork for smartphone chips as early as before the U.S. imposed core technology restrictions, with the HiSilicon semiconductor division established in 2004 being a globally leading fabless semiconductor and device design company.
The Kylin chip, as the most commonly encountered chip product by consumers, truly entered the industry and public eye with the launch of Huawei’s first quad-core smartphone, the Huawei D1. Although this chip had some performance issues, it still represented a technological breakthrough for Huawei in the smartphone chip market. Secondly, Kylin Software is a leading enterprise in the national operating system sector, with Zhongbiao Kylin and Galaxy Kylin being brands under this company. Kylin Software focuses on operating system development as its main business. The company is committed to reducing dependence on foreign technology and creating a self-controllable operating system. Zhongbiao Kylin is the earliest operating system brand launched by Kylin Software, aimed at providing secure and reliable operating system solutions for government and enterprise users. Galaxy Kylin, on the other hand, is designed for individual and family users, aiming to provide a simple, user-friendly, and secure operating system. Kylin Software’s goal is to achieve breakthroughs and development in the domestic IT industry through its independently developed operating systems. In addition to the aforementioned two ‘Kylins’, there are other companies that also use ‘Kylin’ in their names. For example, Tianjin Qilin is a technology company focused on information security products, covering areas such as network security, data security, and endpoint security.
Ubuntu Kylin is a company focused on cloud computing and big data technologies, with business areas including cloud computing platform construction, big data analysis, and applications. Qilin Information Security is a company providing information security solutions, with products including network security devices, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems. These ‘Kylins’ each have unique business and technical characteristics in their respective fields. In summary, the phenomenon of naming ‘Kylins’ in the domestic IT industry is indeed quite common, but each ‘Kylin’ has its own unique business and positioning. Huawei (HiSilicon) Kylin is a domestic smartphone chip brand, Kylin Software is a leading enterprise in the national operating system sector, while other companies’ ‘Kylins’ have their own characteristics in information security, cloud computing, and big data. The existence of these ‘Kylins’ provides more choices and development opportunities for China’s IT industry. In the current context of international technology restrictions, Chinese IT companies should increase their efforts in independent research and development, enhance their technological innovation capabilities, and achieve true self-control. Huawei (HiSilicon) Kylin, as a representative of domestic smartphone chips, has made significant breakthroughs in technical strength, but it still needs to further enhance its competitiveness.
Kylin Software, as a leading enterprise in the national operating system sector, should continue to increase R&D investment to promote the improvement and development of operating systems. Other ‘Kylin’ companies should also strengthen their own technological research and development and market promotion to enhance competitiveness. Finally, as a reader, what are your thoughts on the phenomenon of so many ‘Kylin’ names in China’s IT industry? Do you think these ‘Kylins’ can become leading brands in China’s IT industry? How can we improve self-control capabilities? Feel free to leave your comments and suggestions!
Kylin Software: From Operating Systems to Information Security Kylin Software is formed by the integration of two Chinese companies—Tianjin Qilin and Zhongbiao Software. The company has two product brands, Galaxy Kylin and Zhongbiao Kylin, which include desktop operating systems, server operating systems, cloud computing platforms, embedded operating systems, and more. Zhongbiao Kylin is the starting point for China’s software independent operating system development, while Zhongbiao Software focuses on operating system research and industrialization. These two companies launched the ‘Zhongbiao Kylin’ brand in 2010, which is widely used across various industry markets.
However, in June of this year, Kylin Software took the lead in establishing China’s first desktop operating system root community—openKylin, and in September, it launched the all-scenario Internet of Everything operating system brand, Starlight Kylin. This indicates that Kylin Software is not only a pioneer in the development of China’s independent operating systems but is also continuously exploring new research and development areas. In addition to operating systems, Kylin Software also has an information security brand—Kylin Information Security (Hunan Kylin). This company was established in 2007 in Changsha, Hunan Province, and mainly engages in basic software supply business, involving cloud computing, operating systems, and related information security products. Kylin Information Security is committed to promoting domestic security applications and independently developed the Kylinsec brand after 2014. Although Kylin Information Security is known as the ‘first stock of domestic operating systems’, it is evident from its prospectus that information security is actually its main source of revenue. The development history of Kylin Software can be traced back to the national ‘Eighth Five-Year Plan’ in 1989. At that time, China began to independently develop operating systems, which is also the origin of the Kylin operating system. Zhongbiao Kylin is a brand of Zhongbiao Software, focusing on operating system research and industrialization.
At the end of 2014, Tianjin Qilin Information Technology Co., Ltd. was established, using ‘Galaxy Kylin’ as its product brand, undertaking numerous national major projects. Kylin Software’s products and services have gradually served clients across various fields. For government and enterprise users, Kylin Software can provide efficient solutions to meet users’ needs for security and reliability. Additionally, Kylin Software can offer more convenient and secure services for ordinary consumers, such as desktop operating systems and cloud storage. Kylin Information Security focuses on product development and marketing in the information security field. Its core products include network security, endpoint security, data security, application security, and security services. Kylin Information Security’s products have been widely applied in various industries, including government, finance, telecommunications, and education. For both Kylin Software and Kylin Information Security, the future development prospects are very optimistic. With the acceleration of digitalization trends and the increasing importance of information security, Kylin Software and Kylin Information Security can continue to strengthen their research and development in operating systems and information security, making greater contributions to the development of China’s software industry. From a research and development perspective, Kylin Software can continue to develop more intelligent and adaptive operating system products.
For example, automatically adjusting interface styles and functions based on user behavior and preferences; or using AI technology to automatically identify and handle anomalies in the system. In terms of information security, Kylin Information Security can continue to develop more intelligent and adaptive security products, such as automatically identifying and defending against new types of cyberattacks, or using AI technology to automatically identify and defend against malware and viruses. Overall, Kylin Software and Kylin Information Security have become important components of China’s software industry and will continue to play significant roles in the future. For China’s software industry, we also look forward to more companies emerging to inject more vitality and innovative spirit into the industry. Hunan Kylin: Information Security and Cloud Computing as Main Forces Hunan Kylin is a well-known domestic IT enterprise, with its main business covering operating systems, information security, and cloud computing. However, in recent years, the company’s main business has gradually shifted from operating systems to information security and cloud computing. In 2021, the company’s information security business achieved revenue of 169 million yuan, accounting for more than half of its total revenue; while the cloud computing business also achieved revenue of 92 million yuan, significantly exceeding its operating system business.
The information security business of Hunan Kylin is one of its main business areas, with products and services including security consulting, security assessment, security monitoring, risk management, and more. The company has a professional technical team and leading technical solutions in the information security field, gaining widespread market recognition and user trust. In 2021, the company’s information security business achieved revenue of 169 million yuan, showing a good growth trend. With the continuous development and popularization of cloud computing technology, Hunan Kylin is also actively laying out the cloud computing market. The company’s cloud computing business includes cloud computing platforms, cloud storage, cloud security, and more, providing users with secure, efficient, and convenient cloud computing services. In 2021, the company’s cloud computing business achieved revenue of 92 million yuan, becoming one of the company’s main business areas. In summary, Hunan Kylin’s main business has gradually shifted from operating systems to information security and cloud computing. The company has achieved good performance in the fields of information security and cloud computing, thanks to its professional technical team and leading technical solutions.
As the process of informatization and digitalization continues to deepen, the market prospects for information security and cloud computing will become increasingly broad. Therefore, Hunan Kylin should continue to strengthen research and development and investment in information security and cloud computing businesses, seize market opportunities, and achieve better development.