Today marks a major milestone in Saudi’s digital transformation, as global technology company SAP announced the first live public cloud data centre in the Kingdom, empowering Saudi Vision 2030 and beyond.
As Saudi organisations invest heavily in cloud solutions, the Saudi IT market is set to reach SAR 33 billion in 2018, according to a recent report by BMI Research.
The landmark launch of the SAP public cloud data centre, the centrepiece of SAP’s 4-year SAR 285 million Saudi investment plan, was announced at SAP NOW, a signature event in Riyadh, with an audience of hundreds of C-suite leaders.
The SAP public cloud data centre is part of the wider digital hub, which additionally includes: an open digital platform supporting entrepreneurship, co-innovation with customers, partners, and the wider ecosystem to leverage cloud solutions to solve real world problems, and localisation to support the Government’s vision and journey into digital transformation.
“Today’s SAP public cloud data centre launch will deliver a new level of cloud-based digital solutions to accelerate transformation and competitiveness to the Kingdom, underscoring our commitment to Saudi Vision 2030,” said Ahmed Al-Faifi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, SAP Middle East North. “Our in-country public cloud data centre will enable Saudi public and private sector organisations to securely digitally transform their business.”
Using the SAP public cloud data centre, organisations can adopt opex-friendly and scalable cloud solutions for 25 industries and 12 lines of business. Customers can start their journey of digital transformation by leveraging solutions running on the SAP HANA in-memory database and SAP Cloud Platform, which are available on the SAP public cloud data centre. SAP will be offering its latest Cloud ERP solutions, such as the SAP S/4HANA Cloud, on its SAP public cloud data centre.
“Our investment in a public cloud data centre is aimed at supporting the Kingdom’s transformation into a leading digital economy, enabling young Saudi talent to innovate, and fostering the next generation of Saudi leaders,” said Khaled Alsaleh, the recently-appointed Managing Director for SAP Saudi Arabia. “Saudi organisations that use our SAP Public Cloud Data Center can optimize their budgets in an opex model, and analyse data easily and securely for new levels of business innovation to excel.”
