What the 2019 International AIOps Challenge Reveals About AI‑Driven Operations

On July 13, 2019, Suning Technology jointly organized with the China Computer Federation, Tsinghua University, Nankai University and Huawei the finals of the 2019 International AIOps Challenge in Beijing.

The competition selected KPI anomaly localization—one of the biggest pain points in operations—as its theme. After more than four months of online preliminaries and offline finals, six teams from institutions such as the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Internet Emergency Center reached the finals and presented diverse algorithm models.

Internet operations has long been a hot topic, and with the addition of AI, intelligent operations has become a focal point for both industry and academia. Gartner labeled AIOps as entering a “germination stage” in 2017. The 2019 challenge aimed to leverage community and academic forces to apply AI algorithms to real‑world operational problems.

Suning’s monitoring head Tang Yong emphasized Suning’s transformation over the past 30 years from a retail company to a technology‑driven internet business, stating that “service is Suning’s only product, and user experience is the sole standard.” He highlighted Suning’s substantial investment in monitoring, intelligent operations, safety monitoring, performance trend analysis, and other innovative technologies that are being applied across all scenarios and channels.

Professors Li Xing (Tsinghua University), Zhang Yuzhi (Nankai University) and He Yubao (Huawei) delivered keynote speeches, praising the competition’s academic value and urging greater industry investment in intelligent operations research.

During the finals, six teams introduced solutions focused on anomaly metric localization, using anonymized operational data provided by Suning to conduct algorithm research. By borrowing and adapting mature models, each team designed its optimal algorithm, and the highest‑accuracy model won the competition, offering valuable references for the industry.

The event also featured experts from Tsinghua, Nankai, Suning and Huawei sharing their latest research findings and jointly envisioning the future direction of AIOps and its practical deployment.

Suning, with nearly three decades of cloud service experience, has built capabilities in infrastructure monitoring, user‑experience‑oriented monitoring, end‑to‑end monitoring, anomaly detection, and intelligent positioning. By integrating intelligent alarm and decision‑analysis platforms, Suning created a 7×24‑hour unmanned monitoring system that enhances operational efficiency and user experience.

Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing are accelerating their penetration into various sub‑domains, driving enterprises toward deeper tech‑business integration. Suning plans to further strengthen cooperation with domestic and international universities and enterprises, continuously advancing applied research to promote innovation in the retail industry.