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.
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Timeline
1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line
1962
250 GTO is unveiled
1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company
1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens
1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made
1987
F40 launched
1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent
2002
The Enzo model is announced
2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi
2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled
2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives
2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company
2015
Ferrari launches on Wall Street
2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary
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The Cockroach
(Vintage)
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Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
