Taiwan's Big Data Challenge (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Can Taiwan leverage its hardware manufacturing acumen to tap opportunities in the ascendant big-data analytics market? The digitization of information since the advent of the personal computer has led to a massive accumulation of data, and that data buildup has accelerated with the development of high-speed Internet connections and connected mobile devices. Unlike data found…

Progress: An 8-inch silicon wafer from 1993 on display at the ITRI Exhibition hall. (Photo: Matthew Fulco)

Allowing Chinese investment in the sector could give Beijing immoderate influence over Taiwan’s most prized industry, yet shunning it could undermine competitiveness.   The semiconductor sector is one of the last areas of the global consumer electronics supply chain where Taiwanese firms retain an edge over their Chinese competitors. Taiwanese integrated circuit (IC) makers have…