• US giant plans to have at least 44 cloud regions by the end of 2022.
• Public cloud services adoption is accelerating at an annual rate of 28% year on year between 2020 and 2025 in the UAE.
• IDC survey of the CIOs in the UAE highlights that an in-country data centre is an important factor for 78% of organisations that are planning to adopt cloud over the next 12-18 months.

Oracle has opened its 34th global cloud region in Abu Dhabi in a bid to drive digital transformation and provide customers with stronger business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities.

The US technology giant had opened its first data centre in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi in 2019 and a Saudi facility last year.

The Dubai cloud region was launched last year to up its game against Amazon Web Services which has 25 cloud regions globally.

All the Middle East facilities run on Generation 2 cloud infrastructure.

Generation 1 cloud places user code and data on the same computers as the cloud control code with shared CPU, memory, and storage while Generation 2 cloud puts customer code, data, and resources on a bare-metal computer, while cloud control code lives on a separate computer with a different architecture.

Oracle, which is a leader in the applications side, has been flexing its muscles in the infrastructure space after winning customers such as Zoom, 8X8, McAfee, 7-Eleven, GE, Sky, Outfront, CERN, Cisco, Nissan, Emaar Properties and Emirates Post Group to name a few.

Unique offerings

According to Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure and Platform Services 2021, Oracle continues an impressive year-over-year pace of innovation to bring it closer to the market leaders in terms of hyperscale cloud capabilities. 

“Though Oracle is starting from a smaller base, OCI has added more capabilities on a percentage basis over the past year than any other provider in this market. Oracle’s strategy of providing distributed cloud capabilities is unique compared to all other providers in this market,” the research report said.

Hyperscalers are boosting their investments in the UAE as Covid-19 has given a shot in the arm to digital transformation.

Richard Smith, Executive Vice-President for Technology at Oracle EMEA, said that the rapid adoption of cloud-based technologies like artificial intelligence, the internet of things (IoT), and machine learning is vital for building a thriving digital economy and is a key priority for the UAE. 

“With the Dubai and Abu Dhabi Regions, we have the required cloud infrastructure for organisations across public and private sectors, including SMBs, to accelerate their digital transformation,” he said.

Expanding its cloud footprint

Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said that Oracle’s decision to open a second cloud region in the UAE is a clear reflection of Emirate’s embrace of digital transformation, advanced technologies and the applications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which have become central to the economic and investment strategy for the next 50 years.

“Oracle’s continued investment into the UAE will only accelerate this process, providing critical infrastructure, expertise and insights to further elevate the UAE’s standing as a place where the boldest ideas and biggest projects can come to life,” he said.

Jyoti Lalchandani, Group Vice-President and Regional Managing Director for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa at International Data Corporation (IDC), said that UAE-based organisations are prioritising digital transformation to navigate the current crisis as well as to compete and thrive during the recovery phase.

“Cloud is increasingly being viewed as the technology platform that can provide the agility, capacity and innovation capability that is required to accelerate digital transformation,” he said.

Moreover, he said that the investments by global cloud providers in in-country data centres will continue to alleviate concerns of data residency and security among organisations in sectors such as the public sector, banking and others.

According to the research firm, public cloud services adoption is accelerating at an annual rate of 28 per cent year on year between 2020 and 2025 in the UAE and the growth momentum will continue.

“Our survey of the CIOs in the UAE highlights that an in-country data centre is an important factor for 78 per cent of organisations that are planning to adopt cloud over the next 12-18 months. Oracle’s two cloud regions in the UAE will boost local cloud infrastructure availability. IDC believes that cloud has become an inseparable element of an organisation’s digital transformation and innovation roadmap,” Jyoti said.

Oracle has also announced plans to expand its cloud region footprint to support strong customer demand for Oracle Cloud services worldwide. 

Over the next year, Oracle will open 10 additional cloud regions with new locations across Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. 

Upcoming cloud regions include Milan (Italy), Stockholm (Sweden), Spain, Johannesburg (South Africa), Mexico, and Colombia. Additional second regions will open in Saudi Arabia, France, Israel and Chile. 

Oracle plans to have at least 44 cloud regions by the end of 2022, continuing one of the fastest expansions of any major cloud provider.

In the long run, IDC said that IaaS and PaaS are going to grow at a much faster pace as cloud adoption is the new platform for most enterprises for cost reduction, agility, efficiency and innovation.

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