Oracle's cloud region in Saudi Arabia's futuristic megacity Neom will go live "soon", the chief information officer of the US technology major has said.
The infrastructure is expected to further boost the status of the Middle East as a technology hub and support its economic growth.
The Neom cloud region, originally announced in October 2021, is part of the Texas-based company's intensified push into the region which emphasises the role of the cloud in spurring economic growth in the era of digitalisation, Jae Evans told The National in an interview.
"The cloud enables organisations in all industries to grow and innovate. With it, there's the constant flow of latest technologies making its expansion into countries and territories that weren't available before," she said.
The technology makes it "easier for businesses and lowers the barrier of entry for global investment. These are the kinds of trends that we see and the reason why there's an increase in demand for it".
Ms Evans described Oracle's aggressive cloud expansion in the Middle East as the "fastest" by any major provider, but declined to specify the amount of investment earmarked for the region.
She spoke about the recent $1.5 billion commitment Oracle made to the kingdom during the Leap technology conference in Riyadh in February.
The announcement is part of a broader partnership signed by the kingdom’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Oracle during the visit of chief executive Safra Catz to the Saudi capital last year.
Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's largest economy, welcomed Oracle's first Middle East cloud region in 2020 when it opened in Jeddah. Another cloud region, located in Riyadh, was also announced at Leap.
"A lot of investment is being made, as you can see with the amount of regions that we're building, and we are having a lot of different discussions. That gives you a sense of the trend of growth that we're doing," she said.
The adoption of cloud technology is growing in the Middle East amid the rise of technology-focused young consumers and an evolving digital landscape, underpinned by government efforts to develop the future economy.
This has given global cloud providers incentive to tap into the potential being offered by the region, most notably Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the Arab world's two largest economies.
In September last year, Oracle opened a technology collaboration centre in Abu Dhabi aimed at helping public and private sector organisations leverage the use of emerging technology to boost their bottom lines.
This month, it announced a partnership with Mubadala Health, a unit of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, to optimise its electronic health records system.
The deal adds to a list of prominent Oracle customers in the region, including Abu Dhabi Customs, Dubai-based logistics major DP World, conglomerate AW Rostamani and Emirates Post.
The cloud allows organisations to "integrate their core business processes to drive operational efficiency, support, remote workforce and scale services", Ms Evans said.
Apart from Oracle, global majors including Microsoft, Amazon, IBM and Alibaba Cloud have all opened cloud and data centres in the Middle East.
Oracle does not provide market share figures. Data from industry publication Technology Magazine shows that, as of 2023, the company has a global market share of 2 per cent, making it rank in the seventh place.
Amazon Web Services has the biggest market share with 34 per cent, followed by Microsoft Azure with 21 per cent and Google Cloud with 11 per cent, it said.
Cloud technology is also a key driver of Oracle's business: in its fiscal third quarter ended February, overall cloud revenue grew 45 per cent annually to $4.1 billion, with its infrastructure-as-a-service segment alone surging 55 per cent to $1.2 billion, the company reported last month.
Meanwhile, global end-user spending on public cloud services is projected to grow nearly 22 per cent to $597.3 billion in 2023, from $491 billion last year, a study this month from Gartner showed.
The cloud enables organisations in all industries to grow and innovate. With it, there's the constant flow of latest technologies making its expansion into countries and territories that weren't available before
Jae Evans,
chief information officer of Oracle
“Organisations today view cloud as a highly strategic platform for digital transformation," said Sid Nag, a vice president analyst at Gartner.
Oracle will have eight active cloud regions in the Middle East and Africa once those in Neom and Riyadh, and another in Israel, go online ― joining the two in the UAE, as well as one each in Jeddah, Jerusalem and South Africa.
The Dubai and Abu Dhabi regions started operations in September 2020 and November 2021, respectively.
The Middle East accounts for about a fifth of the company's 41 public cloud regions across 22 countries.
"There isn't an industry that I see that doesn't benefit from the cloud, whether it's in the public or private sector, running very important mission critical workloads for their operations," Ms Evans said.
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPowertrain%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20electric%20motor%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E201hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E310Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E53kWh%20lithium-ion%20battery%20pack%20(GS%20base%20model)%3B%2070kWh%20battery%20pack%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E350km%20(GS)%3B%20480km%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C900%20(GS)%3B%20Dh149%2C000%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Fixtures
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20April%203%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EArsenal%20v%20Luton%20Town%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EManchester%20City%20v%20Aston%20Villa%2C%2011.15pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EThursday%2C%20April%204%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELiverpool%20v%20Sheffield%20United%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GROUPS AND FIXTURES
Group A
UAE, Italy, Japan, Spain
Group B
Egypt, Iran, Mexico, Russia
Tuesday
4.15pm: Italy v Japan
5.30pm: Spain v UAE
6.45pm: Egypt v Russia
8pm: Iran v Mexico
Europe wide
Some of French groups are threatening Friday to continue their journey to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, and to meet up with drivers from other countries on Monday.
Belgian authorities joined French police in banning the threatened blockade. A similar lorry cavalcade was planned for Friday in Vienna but cancelled after authorities prohibited it.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Turkey - because the government look after animals so well there.
Favourite film: I love scary movies. I have so many favourites but The Ring stands out.
Favourite book: The Lord of the Rings. I didn’t like the movies but I loved the books.
Favourite colour: Black.
Favourite music: Hard rock. I actually also perform as a rock DJ in Dubai.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
If you go
The Flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Johannesburg from Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Economy return tickets cost from Dh2,650, including taxes.
The trip
Worldwide Motorhoming Holidays (worldwidemotorhomingholidays.co.uk) operates fly-drive motorhome holidays in eight destinations, including South Africa. Its 14-day Kruger and the Battlefields itinerary starts from Dh17,500, including campgrounds, excursions, unit hire and flights. Bobo Campers has a range of RVs for hire, including the 4-berth Discoverer 4 from Dh600 per day.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
