Sponsored by Huawei, IDC has released a new whitepaper examining the adoption of public cloud services in the GCC. The report recognizes that while the region has traditionally been known for in-house data centers and on-premises implementations, it is now welcoming cloud adoption, showing a positive response to a maturing vendor and partner ecosystem.
The study explores the state of digital transformation in the Gulf today as well as the application of cloud services amongst leading businesses. CIOs also share their priorities for cloud development. Strategies are then offered for how the cloud will serve as a springboard for more innovative and resilient businesses over the coming decade.
Digital disruption and the evolving complexity of certain architectures will have a bearing on the skill, scale, and innovation amongst enterprises of the future. Therefore, experts predict it will not be feasible to create and sustain all technological capabilities in-house. The report notes that roughly 49% of CIOs in the Gulf are considering cloud mainly because these functionalities are not available in the traditional on-premises deployments.
Shifts in macro-economic trends also demand significant flexibility of enterprises to rapidly scale new technologies. The COVID-19 pandemic in particular has pushed the cloud conversation from aversion to adoption in less than a year, with many organizations having adopted cloud to ensure business continuity during uncertain times. By the end of 2021, IDC estimates that around 90% of enterprises worldwide will rely on a mix of on-premises / dedicated private clouds, several public clouds, and legacy platforms to meet their infrastructure needs.
More than a technology project, IDC notes how cloud adoption in the Gulf is a cultural change that fundamentally shifts an organization’s outlook on its IT landscape.
Harish Dunakhe, Research Director, at IDC said: “The evolving hybrid cloud ecosystem is expected to accelerate innovation and will help these cloud-adopters build a crisis-proof organization”.
For its part, Huawei is focused on building a strong partner ecosystem in the Gulf region to meet future cloud demands. Its partnership development program is already attracting new and established technology organizations to build capabilities to advise, implement, and support clients in adopting cloud solutions.
Omar Akar, Vice President & MD, Cloud Business, Huawei Middle East adds: “Weaving together its strengths in cloud solutions along with innovative AI platforms combined with its 5G capabilities, Huawei is helping customers across the Gulf accelerate their digital transformation journeys.”
The whitepaper comes as the growth of HUAWEI CLOUD accelerates worldwide. In 2020, HUAWEI CLOUD ranked number five in the global IaaS market, and is currently the fastest-growing mainstream cloud vendor. The HUAWEI CLOUD platform has established more than 20,000 partners, attracted 2.3 million developers, and released more than 4,500 applications in the cloud market.
To support a wider cloud rollout, Huawei has unveiled several programs to help the region cultivate digital experts and build the local ecosystem. It recently announced a support program for developing 3,000 cloud experts in the region as part of the HUAWEI CLOUD Oasis Program.
The full “Digital Business Innovation Propelled by Accelerated Public Cloud Adoption in the Gulf” whitepaper can be downloaded here.
