KHALEEJ TIMES, Sunday, Sep 5, 2021 | Muharram 28, 1443
Amazon to put UAE businesses on cloud nine
Emirates:
Dubai corporate sector will be major
beneficiary of cloud infrastructure development
by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and it will boost trade and investment as well as
attract global talent into the country, experts say.
Amazon Web Services, which is expected to launch
its cloud infrastructure in the UAE in the first half of next year, will not
only benefit the organisations in the region but also expedite progress on
future-ready projects of Dubai and the UAE. It already has a cluster of data
centres in Bahrain and edge locations in the UAE.
“We are excited to launch the AWS cloud
infrastructure in the UAE in the first half of next year, which will benefit
organisations of all sizes in the UAE and across the region,” said Vinod
Krishnan, head of Middle East and North Africa at AWS and advisory council
member of the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy.
He said the upcoming launch builds on the
continued AWS investment in the country, and our support for its focus on
building a thriving global hub for technology innovation.
“We look forward to advancing our work with Dubai
FDI to enable startups, enterprises,
and government agencies to realize the full potential of the AWS Cloud,” he
said.
Hotbed for cloud infrastructure
The UAE has become hotbed for cloud infrastructure
players. Technology giants 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.
Atik Munshi, managing partner at Dubai-based
consultancy Enterprise House, said Dubai and UAE are one of the few states
globally which have an imbibed technology innovation as part of the state
policy.
“The keenness of the Dubai government to adopt the
latest computing technology has helped it be a futuristic state. The
announcement of Amazon’s AWS cloud infrastructure and data centre in Dubai is a
clear sign of how the multinational corporates have placed their trust and
confidence in UAE,” he said.
He said the UAE’s advancement towards 5G and such
cloud based facilities gel very well both for the government and businesses
alike.
“Cloud computing has come of age during the last
few years but this is just the tip of the iceberg; the Covid 19 pandemic became
a catalyst to further boost the growth of cloud computing,” he said.
As reported by Cloudwards, the current cloud
computing market is estimated to be more than $370 billion and expected to be a
staggering $830 billion plus market by 2025. About 48% of the businesses around
the world use cloud storage for storing classified and important data; its
obvious that this figure will grow rapidly.
“Dubai is showing its grit by providing an
excellent platform for businesses, whether startup or MNCs, thus gaining their
confidence,” he said.
Dubai FDI welcome the move
The Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai
FDI), the investment promotion agency of Dubai Economy, has welcomed the
announcement by Amazon Web Services (AWS)
of its plans to open data centres in the UAE in the first half of 2022. The new
AWS Middle East (UAE) region will consist of three availability zones and become
AWS’s second region in the Middle East.
The announcement builds on the momentum of cloud
adoption in the Middle East by enabling customers to run applications and store
data locally. This will give organisations access to advanced cloud services and
technologies to drive innovation including computing, storage, networking,
database, analytics, machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), mobile
services, and more.
The development is supported by the UAE’s focus on
promoting technology innovation, which makes it a prestigious global hub for
entrepreneurs, e-governments, and multinational businesses.
“Our strategic location facilitates digital
communication around the world in terms of speed, security, and infrastructure
readiness. AWS's expansion in the UAE is testimony to our positive growth
environment and ability to attract strategic investment, and comes as part of a
fruitful and continuous collaboration over the years,” Fahad Al Gergawi, chief
executive officer of Dubai FDI, said in a statement to Khaleej
Times on Saturday.
He said Dubai FDI has supported AWS ever since its
first investment in a Middle East and North Africa (Mena) office that the
company opened in Dubai in December 2016. The opening of AWS’s data centres next
year builds on this relationship and a new stage in the journey of excellence
that has already seen the opening of two AWS Direct Connect locations and two
Amazon CloudFront Edge locations in the UAE, he said.
“The ecosystem of digital transformation directed
and supported by our wise leadership provides an effective platform for
continuing and accelerating economic growth through innovation. This has
positioned Dubai and the UAE as an important destination for entrepreneurs,
governments, and companies alike,” Al Gergawi said.
The public cloud services market in the Middle
East and North Africa (Mena) region was estimated at Dh7.97 billion ($1.9
billion) in 2020, double what it was in 2016, according to data research firm
Statista.
GCC public cloud market is expected to grow at an
annual growth rate of 25 per cent and will hit $2.35 billion in 2024 compared to
$956 million in 2020, according to research firm IDC.
UAE’s pre-eminent position
AWS’s establishment of its cloud infrastructure in
the UAE confirms the pre-eminent position of the country as the first choice for
investors wishing to invest in the region and expand worldwide, with a direct
regional market representing one-third of the world's consumers.
Dubai has established its position as the City of
the Future, an effective Gateway to the region’s emerging markets, and a
prominent Global Hub for trade and investment. It is on track to achieve Dh2
trillion trade target by 2025.
The recently implemented updates to the federal
Commercial Companies Law, which give existing and new investors full ownership
of their business in more than 1,000 business activities effective June 1, 2021,
adds to the attraction that Dubai and the UAE hold for global investors.
“At Dubai FDI, we’re committed to supporting new
investors by providing relevant information and advice and ensuring a smooth and
seamless setup process. At the same time, we offer dedicated post-setup support
and follow-through,” Al Gergawi said.
Dubai’s future ready infrastructure
Dubai has rapidly developed future-ready
infrastructure that connects businesses to a vast market of 2.4 billion
consumers in the Middle East, Africa, Indian Subcontinent, and the Commonwealth
of Independent States. The city taps into several strategic advantages to
deliver excellence, such as the world’s ninth-largest container port, one of the
world’s largest airlines connecting over 150 destinations, and an ultra-modern
transportation and distribution network.
Al Gergawi noted that Dubai’s futuristic vision
and preparedness has positioned it as one of the world’s most important economic
nodes, where wealth and talent are nurtured.
As one of the most business-friendly economies and
one of the three most preferred investment destinations for global capital,
according to Financial Times’ fDi Markets, Dubai and the UAE lead the Mena
region on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings for 2020.
Dubai recorded exceptional inflows of foreign
direct investment (FDI) during 2020, with 455 projects worth Dh24.7 billion
being established in the city, according to data from the Dubai FDI Monitor.
An estimated 18,325 new jobs were created by
inbound FDI in 2020. This performance places Dubai among the top global FDI
locations in 2020, ranking first in the Mena region and fourth globally in
attracting greenfield FDI capital, according to fDi Markets.
The UAE witnessed a 44 per cent growth in FDI
flows in 2020 to reach Dh73 billion. This performance was achieved amid the
country's plans to double the size of its economy to Dh3 trillion over the next
10 years.