The Middle East as a region is making substantial investments in digital technologies and business models. This digital and intelligent transformation is inevitable and will profoundly change each and every industry.
During this transformation, an increasing amount of data has been migrating onto the cloud over recent years. Public cloud services revenue in the MENA region has already been predicted to total nearly $3 billion in 2020, a sizeable increase of over 20% year over year.
Embracing open cloud and the provision of secure access to information has enabled societies to start reaping the benefits of this data treasure trove. This is particularly evident in the context of Covid-19 when the sharing of knowledge across government departments, institutions, and across borders has never been so important.
Yet many experts within the ICT industry acknowledge that the Middle East has historically lagged behind other global pioneers in building its own cloud infrastructure. That has resulted in a reliance on capabilities and services brought in from abroad. Foreign cloud data centers now host all types of organizations—from our local startups to major multinational enterprises.
That model is not unique to the Middle East, but it has started to be challenged. The EU’s recent GAIA-X project, for example, argues that the current market structure risks unnecessary dependency on foreign cloud providers. GAIA-X thus centers on building a new ecosystem meeting the needs of EU-based organizations with European-driven values and policies.
Whether a GAIA-X model is right for the Middle East will require much more examination in the years ahead. Nonetheless, such initiatives do encourage us to reflect on what kind of digital community we are creating today: What values will define our approach to digital transformation in the years ahead? What standards are going to govern data access, and how do we best combine foreign expertise while building local cloud capabilities?
We may not have all the answers yet, but we do know some of the key issues that need to be addressed.
That begins with the development of local technology skills. There has long been a talent gap in the region when it comes to areas like cloud computing. Addressing this requires scientific communities, academia, governments, and private companies of all sizes to cooperate even more closely, creating an environment whereby those who drive innovations forward are also those who benefit in economic terms.
In parallel, being open and transparent with data policies will be essential to scaling up the Middle East’s global competitiveness in the cloud era. Regardless of whether the region’s data actually sits locally or abroad, we need an ecosystem that values neutrality, links current data silos, and offers clear standards whereby any cloud-based transaction can be done swiftly and securely. Cybersecurity and privacy protection are the foundation of this cloud future, whereby governments, carriers, network equipment providers, and a broad range of third parties need to work together.
Moreover, those of us in the tech community need to offer the public a clear sense of stability and reliability when it comes to cloud services. Both public cloud services and hybrid-cloud solutions need to be trusted to deliver without interruption. Business continuity is critical in today’s Middle East as more of our cities and industries are digitally dependent. Thankfully the synergy between cloud, AI, and 5G technologies is helping to bring greater reliability to cloud transactions. It’s just a matter of time until these use cases really begin to scale.
All of these efforts—whether digital skills enhancement, transparent data policies, or cloud service stability—are underpinned by a spirit of collaboration. Our entire industry agrees that globalization is the way forward. Building and sharing global ecosystems is essential to success, and through joint innovation programs, we are already expanding the value of ICT to foster a healthy and symbiotic industry. Our collective strengths and a genuine shift from bilateral cooperation to full ecosystem collaboration will have a profound impact on our shared prosperity.