Oracle announced Abu Dhabi as the home for its second cloud region in the United Arab Emirates, to help provide corporate cloud services to businesses in the region. The launch of the Abu Dhabi Region gives a push forward to the UAE’s Fourth Industrial revolution strategy, which emphasizes advancing the national economy with the help of cutting-edge technology. In addition, Oracle aims to provide its customers with stronger business continuity and disaster recovery capability with the Oracle Cloud Abu Dhabi Region and the Oracle Cloud Dubai Region.
“Oracle’s decision to open a second cloud region in the UAE is a clear reflection of our nation’s embrace of digital transformation, advanced technologies, and the applications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which have become central to our economic and investment strategy for the next 50 years,” says UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi.
With the cloud industry booming globally, the cloud market in the GCC region is expected to more than double in value, reaching $2.4 billion by 2021, which is up from $965 million the previous year. (Source: International Data Corporation) Moving to a cloud system owned by a specialized establishment like Oracle, SAP, or Amazon Web Services is more economical for regional businesses, as compared to creating their own cloud system. This also helps reduce the overall cost of ownership.
The cloud market in the GCC region is expected to more than double in value, reaching $2.4 billion by 2021
Richard Smith, Executive Vice President, Technology, EMEA, Oracle, says, “The rapid adoption of cloud-based technologies like artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), and machine learning is vital for building a thriving digital economy and is a key priority for the UAE. With the Dubai and Abu Dhabi Regions, we have the required cloud infrastructure for organizations across public and private sectors, including SMBs, to accelerate their digital transformation.”
Abu Dhabi is all set to become the next leading business hub in the region. Recently, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) signed a strategic partnership with Bahrain Bourse (BHB) to increase cross-border cooperation and achieve synergies in enhancing market liquidity and promoting the insurance of low-cost investment vehicles. As a part of the cooperation, the two enterprises have agreed to launch a number of products and services, including Exchange Traded Fund (ETFs), direct cross-border trading, and smart order routing. Bahrain Bourse’s CEO and Vice Chairman, Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa says that the “partnership will enable us to set a blueprint for future regional collaboration and harness each other’s capabilities.”
