Responding to ever-increasing customer demand for cloud services, Oracle recently announced plans for an impressive expansion in Saudi Arabia. As part of a US $1.5 billion investment, Oracle will be opening its third public cloud region in the Kingdom’s capital city Riyadh. The Oracle Cloud Riyadh Region will join the existing cloud infrastructure facilities located in Jeddah and the futuristic city of NEOM. With this, Oracle will expand its footprint in the Middle East by operating six cloud regions here.
“In the last century, Saudi Arabia transformed its economy by developing the infrastructure needed to produce, refine, process, and transport hydrocarbons. This century we are committed to creating the digital infrastructure that will underpin future economies,” said His Excellency Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment. “Oracle’s decision to expand its cloud computing capacity in the Kingdom will play a key role in unlocking the opportunities that rapid technological advancements are creating. MISA will continue in its quest to enable the building of a robust digital infrastructure, by creating an attractive environment for these investments – for example, by establishing special economic zones that are tailored to particular industries such as cloud computing and digital transformation.”
The investment is included in an MoU that Oracle has signed with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) for helping businesses in Saudi Arabia to take advantage of the latest cloud innovations. As part of this Memorandum of Understanding, Oracle will collaborate alongside MCIT and the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) in setting up an additional localized cloud region tailored according to government regulations on data residency.
“Oracle’s investment will rapidly accelerate the cloud transformation across Saudi Arabia’s business and public sector,” said Richard Smith, Executive Vice President, Technology – EMEA, Oracle. “Oracle Cloud delivers pioneering innovation in technologies like AI, Machine Learning, and IoT, and it will help fuel the economic growth and digital transformation that is an integral part of the Saudi Vision 2030.”
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) stands apart from other hyperscale providers with its range of customizable deployment solutions, allowing customers to configure their cloud environment based on regulations and data residency needs. OCI’s distributed cloud spans public regions, Dedicated Region services, Oracle Exadata Cloud@Customer options as well as the recently announced Oracle Alloy.
Cloud spending in Saudi Arabia
As organizations in Saudi Arabia strive to keep up with the latest cloud technologies, public cloud spending is projected to surge over the upcoming years. According to IDC, this increase is estimated at an impressive CAGR of 26.8% and bring overall investments to $3.1 billion in 2026 as businesses look towards a more modernized approach by transitioning into ‘cloud native’ systems and applications.
Saudi Arabia is on track to become the fastest-growing economy in 2023, offering unprecedented opportunities for investment. Digital transformation initiatives are set to drive significant technology spending as cloud computing and other technologies provide a platform for innovative growth across industries. This could result in an era of great economic progress throughout the country.
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