- Amazon Web Services to open three data centres in the Emirate in the first half of next year.
- Hyperscalers such as AWS, Oracle, Microsoft, Alibaba, SAP and Google are boosting their investments in the Middle East as Covid-19 has given a boost to digital transformation.
- IaaS and PaaS are going to grow at a much faster pace as cloud adoption is the new platform for most of the enterprises for cost reduction, agility, efficiency and innovation, IDC says.
With Amazon Web Services planning to open three data centres in the UAE in the first half of next year, the Emirate has become the hotbed for cloud infrastructure locations in the Middle East.
Amazon already has a cluster of data centres in Bahrain and edge locations in the UAE. The cloud infrastructure giant opened its first Middle East data centres in Bahrain in 2019.
Hyperscalers such as AWS, Oracle, Microsoft, Alibaba, SAP and Google are boosting their investments in the region as Covid-19 has given a boost to digital transformation.
Google does not have a data centre in the UAE but they are planning in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Peter DeSantis, Senior Vice-President of Global Infrastructure, AWS, said the new AWS Region supports the UAE’s focus on promoting technology innovation that has made it a thriving global hub for entrepreneurs, e-governments, and multi-national businesses.
The new AWS Middle East (UAE) Region will consist of three Availability Zones. Globally, AWS has 80 Availability Zones across 25 geographic regions, with plans to launch 18 more Availability Zones and six more AWS Regions in Australia, India, Indonesia, Spain, Switzerland, and the UAE.
AWS Regions are comprised of Availability Zones, which place infrastructure in separate and distinct geographic locations with enough distance to significantly reduce the risk of a single event impacting customers’ business continuity, yet near enough to provide low latency for high availability applications that leverage multiple Availability Zones.
Each Availability Zone has independent power, cooling, and physical security and is connected through redundant, ultra-low-latency networks.
Attracting investments
Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Director General of the UAE Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), said the timing has great implications as the UAE prepares for its next fifty and developing a digital future that enhances the UAE global position as a hub for attracting investments and partnerships.
“This step supports the UAE strategies related to digital transformation and future based digital and sustainable knowledge society and economy. It also reflects the high confidence in the UAE’s investment environment by international companies that aspire to expand their activities and prepare for major and accelerating digital changes represented in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and solutions,” he said.
Moreover, he said that the choice of AWS and other international companies to base their services in the UAE would not have been possible without the accumulative and vigilant efforts of the UAE telecommunications companies.
“They have always been partners in the process of construction and renaissance by providing the best services to companies and individuals, through a pioneering and advanced infrastructure,” he said.
Etisalat is likely to be the telecom provider for the new data centres of AWS.
GCC public cloud market value
According to research firm IDC, GCC public cloud market (IaaS, SaaS and PaaS) is expected to grow from $956 million last year to $2.35 billion in 2024, at an annual growth rate of 25 per cent.
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 of the enterprises for cost reduction, agility, efficiency and innovation.
In the UAE, public cloud spending is expected to grow from $430 million last year to $1 billion by 2024, growing at an annual growth rate of 25 per cent over the five years from 2019-2024.
“AWS’s expansion into the UAE is a testament to our rapidly growing innovation ecosystem that will benefit from access to the world’s leading cloud platform and its advanced technologies and solutions. Building on Abu Dhabi’s smart infrastructure and digital transformation, AWS’s investment will further enable innovators and companies with globally relevant solutions to realize new opportunities in the UAE and beyond,” Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, said.
Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), said, that the investment comes in line with their goal of attracting investments that boost technology capabilities. “It is another example of the growing partnership between the public and private sectors in the emirate aimed to accelerate breakthroughs and advance large-scale digital transformation, strengthening Abu Dhabi’s position as a global hub for innovation,” he said.
All the major cloud providers are increasing their investments in the channel, both to leverage the consulting and managed services capabilities of partners, and to expand sales capacity to drive cloud consumption.
An industry expert said that AWS is making investments across its global partner ecosystem to sustain its momentum, including greater support for ISVs, launching new vertical partner competencies, further expansion into distribution to boost SMB adoption and new partnerships as it extends its hybrid cloud strategy.
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