Day: September 21, 2023

Oracle has plans to add more cloud regions in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia leading contenders thanks to their rapid adoption of the technology, according to the company’s top regional executive. High digital adoption rates and a strong government push are attractive drivers for growth, the executive claims.

The two largest economies in the Arab world also stand out because of the support given to innovation by their governments, according to Richard Smith, executive vice president of technology for Oracle’s Emea region, who spoke with The National.

“Across Emea, we have priorities. On the other hand, [the UAE and Saudi Arabia] are unquestionably very high growth regions,” he said on Wednesday in Las Vegas, outside the Oracle CloudWorld convention.

“Government agendas for digitisation are significant drivers for cloud adoption, which is one of the things that is quite powerful in the region.

And if you look at Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, everyone talks about social and citizen services, which is what is causing the cloud to be adopted and deployed so quickly.
According to Mr. Smith, Texas-based Oracle continues to make “very, very big” investments to expand the capacity of its data centers while making sure that these investments are in line with local social, governmental, and security goals.

Making sure that the alliances we are forming are in line with the national ambitions that many of those countries have is one of the main obstacles, not the opportunity itself.

The usage of cloud technology is expanding in the Middle East as young consumers’ interest in technology grows and the digital landscape changes.

This has encouraged international cloud service providers to take advantage of the region’s potential, particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

As part of their ambitions for economic diversification, the two nations are placing a lot of emphasis on technology and innovation.

A total of five Oracle cloud regions will eventually be shared by them.

A cloud region is an area that contains a cloud data center, which is a physical facility that holds the IT infrastructure needed to operate applications and related services as well as manage and store relevant data.

The first cloud area in the Middle East, which will open in Jeddah in 2020, was welcomed by the monarchy, while a second cloud zone in Riyadh was also announced at the Leap technology conference earlier this year. According to chief information officer Jae Evans, a third of the future metropolis of Neom will go live “soon.”

The cloud zones in Dubai and Abu Dhabi got going in September 2020 and November 2021, respectively.

A quarter of Oracle’s 45 public cloud regions, spread over 23 countries, are in the Middle East.

Other international giants beyond Oracle have opened cloud and data centers in the Middle East, including Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and Alibaba Cloud.

In terms of acceptance and development, the region is “certainly among some of the fastest in the world.”

To guarantee that services meet needs, Oracle maintains tight connections with regional governments.
For instance, the business collaborates “very closely” with Saudi Arabia’s cybersecurity agency before the issuance of new legislation.

So that we can comprehend how they think and what they want, Mr. Smith added.

“A joint effort of that nature is really effective. And I do observe a significant desire in the Middle East to use that strategy. Other nations can differ slightly from ours.

According to Cherian Varghese, senior vice president of technology for small and medium businesses at Oracle, the company’s cloud computing services are also advantageous to these businesses, who make up more than a quarter of its clients in Emea.

The company has about 315,000 SMB customers around the world.

In comparison to necessities like water and electricity, 91 percent of Saudi respondents now classify broadband as “critical national infrastructure,” above EMEA averages.
Consumer expectations have changed, according to the most recent Cisco Broadband Survey, which included 2,000 Saudi Arabian respondents. This marks the beginning of a significant change in the Internet connectivity industry.

Consumers in the kingdom are reassessing how much they rely on the Internet, juggling their desire for dependability and speed with the growing demands of environmental consciousness and the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT), which connects everything from smart cars to household appliances.

Consumer broadband preferences in Saudi Arabia are influenced by sustainability
A consensus has emerged as a result of this transition, with 91 percent of Saudi respondents now classifying internet as “critical national infrastructure,” equating it with necessities like water and electricity and exceeding EMEA averages.
The rise of sustainability as a key influence on consumer decisions is a prominent feature of this revolutionary environment.

The younger group, those in Saudi Arabia between the ages of 18 and 24, has the highest level of anxiety, at 73%, and has expressed concerns about the carbon footprint of their broadband at a startling 65 percent of consumers.

Additionally, 92 percent of respondents in the kingdom indicated that they would be willing to pay more for sustainable broadband, with almost a quarter saying they would be willing to pay more than double that amount.

Our survey has shown that Saudi Arabian consumers are becoming more conscious of the environmental impact of technology. This is consistent with KSA efforts to create a more prosperous and sustainable society and represents a cutting-edge strategy to advance sustainability in the nation, according to Salman Faqeeh, Managing Director of Cisco Saudi Arabia.

“In the modern world, it is more important than ever for digital transformation to cooperate with sustainability. At Cisco, we think the tech sector has a special chance to drive the dual transition to a digital and green future.

The need for processing power and bandwidth to handle the enormous amounts of created data is growing as the IoT age develops.
More than half of Saudi Internet users use their connections primarily for social media interaction (58%) followed by video streaming and gaming (57%) and online reading, browsing, or shopping (53%) activities.

In Saudi Arabia, respondents are increasingly integrating a range of connected devices into their home Internet services, including smart lights (29 percent), home appliances (30 percent), and home entertainment systems (54 percent). This evolution has also ushered in a preference for a “smarter” digital life.

Although hundreds of people flocked to the store the night before the new model’s introduction, it was supposed to go on sale on Friday.
A day before the new iPhone 15 unveiling, hundreds of people started lining up outside the Apple store in the Dubai Mall, so security guards closed the entrance.

On Friday, September 22, the iPhone 15 is expected to go on sale in a number of nations, including the UAE.
At the mall, a security guard advised eager customers to make reservations online or visit at a later time. Tomorrow will be a huge day, so we’re getting ready. The shop is currently not open to customers. The security guard assured team KT, “We are making sure everyone is safe and at ease.

Many locals were anxiously down the minutes until they could purchase the new model. Aziz Karimova, an expatriate from Uzbekistan, arrived at the mall as early as 4 p.m. to find out how he might get his pre-ordered phone. “I just relocated to Dubai, so I don’t know how things are over there. I traveled to the Dubai Mall after viewing a few films there, said Karimova.
“Since I’ve always been an Apple fan, I was able to reserve the phone on the first day. According to the crowd today, I believe I must arrive early the next day for the phone, Karimova continued.

The iPhone 15 was first unveiled on September 13 and contains a number of distinctive features, including as a 48MP main camera and a titanium body.

Among the many locals who attended the mall were hundreds of Apple fans like Ahmed Sufyan. Although Sufyan, an Egyptian expat working as a marketing professional, had only recently arrived at the mall, “the crowd made me believe that they are giving out the phones a day before,” he claimed.

Sufyan stated, “I’ve already made a pre-order, and the delivery is planned for September 27.
The days leading up to the new model’s release have seen a tremendous amount of talk and enthusiasm. Visitors from the Northern Emirates who were in Dubai want to stay at relatives’ homes overnight and visit the mall the next morning.

Lebanese realtor Badr Sameer was in Dubai Mall when the enormous crowd astounded him. It was similar to a festival. “Only during festivals have I ever seen such crowds at the mall, and I frequent it frequently,” remarked Badr.