Oracle is currently running behind its competitors in a race to nab the cloud computing market share
Oracle Corp., a US-based software company, is planning to invest in a public cloud region in Saudi Arabia with an investment of $1.5 billion to cater to the demands of Saudi’s cloud infrastructure. This cloud region in Riyadh will be the successor to one in Jeddah and another being signed for the upcoming city NEOM.
Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Oracle have signed an MoU to provide businesses with the framework to reap benefits and exploit opportunities in the cloud.
Nick Redshaw, a senior vice president at Oracle, said in an interview in Dubai that Oracle is in the completion phase of its project in Riyadh; once they figure out with their suppliers, a final date will be announced.
Redshaw added that investments are to be poured in a several-year timeline. Redshaw also hinted that Oracle is planning to expand the range of its cloud region in Jeddah, its first cloud region investment in Saudi Arabia.
They announced this investment at an important tech conference of global tech companies in Riyadh.
Tech giants like Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon are in a race to secure deals in different parts of the globe to set up their data centers and improve data transfer speed. This race is fueled by the rapid increase in the demand for cloud computing services.
Saudi’s Vision 2030
Saudi Arabia has been building a business-friendly ecosystem, eagerly promoting the opportunities it possesses, and constantly inviting business houses from all across the globe to set up their operations in Riyadh. Saudi authorities have also politely pressurized multi-national companies to shift their headquarters to the heart of the Kingdom, Riyadh. Saudi officials have put forward their luring government contracts to attract companies. These contracts can only be beneficial if companies shift their headquarters to Riyadh.
Oracle is currently running behind its competitors in a race to nab the cloud computing market share. It is successful to enjoy the benefits of being the first global tech company to have a data center in Saudi Arabia.
This had been possible under the Saudi Government’s Vision 2030. The Crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has ambitious plans to shift from oil dependence to economic self-reliance. This economic transition is paving the way for such investments in the Saudi Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia is facing a tough time attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), which will play a key role in Vision 2030. The FDI inflows were a meager $4.1 billion towards the first half of 2022, compared to the phenomenal level of $100 billion to be raised by the year 2030; the countdown for seven years is clicking for the Kingdom.
Oracle has got contracts from the futuristic city, NEOM. Mohammed Bin Salman’s $1 Trillion project will be built as a future city with opportunities for a special economic zone. The city is to be built on the coast of the Red Sea, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
Operational cloud model
Oracle will work in close collaboration with MCIT and Communications and Information Technology Commission to develop a commercial and operational level model for a separate cloud region model in Saudi Arabia. This cloud region will be specially curated for the Saudi Government’s requirements and local data residency regulations. They are also in talks with MCIT to boost the development of the cloud computing industry in Saudi Arabia.
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) also offers a custom cloud model to be designed to deploy OCI according to the client’s needs on the grounds of regulations, data residency, and latency requirements. This distribution of cloud services offers models for the public region and dedicated region under the Oracle Exadata Cloud@Custom, a multi-cloud service offering, and Oracle Alloy, the newly launched cloud offering.