How Alibaba’s ‘Cloud‑First’ Double 11 Redefined E‑Commerce Innovation

In 2020 Alibaba turned the traditional Double 11 shopping festival into a "Double Sticks" event, extending the activity from November 1‑3 to a second wave on November 11, and achieving a record order‑creation peak of 583,000 orders per second.

Beyond consumer discounts, Double 11 has become Alibaba’s internal "technology sports meet," where new services and cutting‑edge technologies are forced to mature quickly and become future business pillars.

Zhang Peng: Why turn this year’s Double 11 into "Double Sticks"?

Cheng Li: From a consumer‑experience perspective. The previous one‑night rush created a ritual but felt too rushed. This year we revamped the mobile Taobao UI, strengthened the homepage recommendation flow, and leveraged a major upgrade of Alibaba’s cognitive‑algorithm system. AI helps narrow interests to specific products, discovers entertaining content, and powers virtual anchors that provide 24‑hour service.

Zhang Peng: What is the most exciting core change for Alibaba this year?

Cheng Li: The focus shifted from transaction‑peak capacity to technological innovation. Last year we announced a "full‑cloud" core system; this year is the first "cloud‑on" year, with many first‑time‑used technologies. The cloud now serves not only Alibaba’s own business but also partners and merchants, acting as a public platform that removes technical barriers.

Examples include Cainiao’s cloud‑based logistics platform handling 10 billion parcels daily, and Alibaba Cloud’s data‑middle‑platform that helped a client increase ROI by 322 %.

Zhang Peng: Where is the "cloud‑on" Double 11 heading?

Cheng Li: After eleven years of iterative cycles, the next step is commercial innovation. Alibaba aims to build a "digital‑native business operating system" that integrates technology and commerce, enabling the entire value chain to evolve together.

Zhang Peng: How does the "cloud‑on" approach differ from previous "tool‑by‑tool" solutions?

Cheng Li: Previously, teams solved problems independently; now the cloud acts as a foundational platform that lets everyone build higher‑level solutions collectively, similar to constructing a new digital foundation before erecting taller buildings.

Zhang Peng: How have the past eleven Double 11 cycles shaped Alibaba’s technology roadmap?

Cheng Li: Starting from a modest 2009 activity, Alibaba progressed through milestones such as the "remove‑IOE" initiative (2010), the retirement of the last minicomputer (2013), the "Feitian 5K" project (2013), the "Moon" data‑consolidation platform (2014), the "middle‑platform" strategy (2015), the establishment of the DAMO Academy (2017), and the full migration to cloud (2019). Each phase turned pressure into innovation, exemplified by the OceanBase database created by a sub‑100‑person team to replace Oracle.

Zhang Peng: How does Alibaba balance its strong engineering culture with its unique corporate values?

Cheng Li: The company blends lofty ideals with concrete execution. Technical talent is encouraged to translate visionary values into practical solutions, gradually turning Alibaba into a technology‑leading firm.

Zhang Peng: What innovation mechanisms does Alibaba use?

Cheng Li: Both top‑down vision‑driven programs and bottom‑up grassroots innovations coexist. Successful projects like OceanBase or the "Juhuasuan" discount platform emerge from the latter, while large‑scale initiatives follow a clear, hierarchical roadmap.

Zhang Peng: How does Alibaba define its technical high ground?

Cheng Li: The core belief is "technology creates new commerce." Alibaba’s architecture spans front‑end, middle‑platform, and underlying infrastructure, with technology both driving and being driven by commercial needs.

Looking ahead, Alibaba will continue to invest in digital‑native commerce scenarios and foundational capabilities such as compute, algorithms, and data technologies, aiming to build a digital economy that serves the whole society.