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Oracle aims to invest "significant capital" in the Middle East and Africa as competition with Microsoft, Amazon and Google for market share has increased.
Oracle sees the Middle East and Africa region as one of the fastest-growing markets for cloud adoption. In an interview with The National, Richard Smith, Oracle's executive vice president of technology for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said:
Cloud adoption rate in Middle East and Africa is extremely high … it is driven by government directions, strong emphasis on data sovereignty and support towards digitisation. Data sovereignty is a level of concern everywhere, but in the Middle East, it’s a very high-priority issue.
Companies are forced to develop solutions that must comply with the country's data privacy and security laws, as failure to comply with these rules in the areas of customer data collection, processing and storage could lead to significant fines or other legal action.
Smith noted that government agencies, the financial industry and healthcare are the fastest adopters of cloud technology in the region.
The company's first cloud region in the Middle East opened in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2020. Another opened in Dubai in October of the same year. A third region was opened in Abu Dhabi last November. And the company plans to open a cloud region in the future futuristic city of Neom in Saudi Arabia.
We plan to open new data regions in the Middle East — the number will continue to grow, certainly to match the growing demand. Without any doubt, I see numerous expansion and investment opportunities here,
Smith said.
In the UAE, Oracle is working with DP World, Abu Dhabi Customs, Dubai Investments and Emirates Post. The company has also opened the Al Mustaqbal Oracle Innovation Hub at Reem Island on Abu Dhabi's Reem Island.
Being a part of the local community is extremely important for us. It is about developing skills and creating local expertise … we are confident that many innovations will come out of the Abu Dhabi hub that will be utilised on a global scale,
Smith adds.