Worldwide cloud adoption has been growing consistently over the last few years. In the Middle East, government and private sector firms are boosting investments in cloud solutions and innovations to develop and build knowledge-based economies.
However, in the recent past, there was an assumption that the cloud is only for larger companies due to its perceived high costs. Fortunately, with hyperscalers and regional providers making their services accessible and affordable, organisations of all sizes can now thrive with the cloud.
ITP.net, together with CommScope and Moro Hub, hosted the ‘Local meets global: The value of cloud hosting in the Middle East’ webinar. The virtual event featured top industry experts including Arif Almalik, Chief Digital Products Officer at Moro Hub, Hans-Jürgen Niethammer, Market Development Strategic Cloud Business Lead for EMEA/APAC at CommScope and Shoaib Yousuf, a partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The high-level discussions explored how cloud hosting services can help local businesses can achieve global competitiveness.
The cloud market at a glance
In the Middle East, cloud adoption has increased dramatically over the last two years. Challenges surrounding data security and a lack of regulations have largely subsided. “Now, cloud adoption has matured, the regulations are maturing as is the talent pool and organisations are becoming more aware of what potential benefit the cloud has for them,” said Yousuf.
He added, “We’ve seen a very rapid acceleration in cloud adoption and there are many enterprises are investing in this area. Hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google are entering the Middle East. We’re also seeing a lot of local providers offering cloud solutions and services, which present numerous options and opportunities for enterprises to embrace the cloud.”
A study by Gartner revealed that the cloud services industry is set to reach USD 482 billion by 2022. In the region, there are several drivers behind increased investments in the cloud. “Among these factors are cost-savings. Cloud usage can be scaled and adjusted to meet the business needs of the client through a pay-as-you-grow model, which means they don’t need to worry about huge up-front investments,” said AlMalik.
He added, “Other key elements driving investments are scalability and flexibility. With the cloud, organisations are free to scale IT resource up or down, depending on their requirements. Data security is another important driver as more and more businesses are realising the value of transferring compliance and security duties to the cloud service provider (CSP). The CSP possess the latest expertise and technology, helping clients to avoid risks.”
Citing a recent industry study, CommScope’s Niethammer highlighted that the Middle East will be one of the fasting growing cloud markets in the coming decade. He noted that in the past, major data centres were largely spread across major cities such as Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Hong Kong and Virginia among others. However, as data and the number of users increase, the latency of these networks has become an issue.
“This increased market demand requires the architecture of the cloud to change. This called for the decentralisation of data centres and the need to build them in more countries, which is what we are seeing today. This resolves latency and data sovereignty issues as localised data centres mean very fast transfers,” he explained.
Traditional hosting vs cloud hosting
In traditional hosting arrangements, the client typically rents space with a service provider, they receive a dedicated server as well as the other hardware resources they require. Providers can also offer a shared service resource that is split between clients, but this becomes problematic when the business requires further computing resources. As cloud usage and demand increase, traditional solutions can slow down due to increased loads.
With cloud hosting services, the CSPs provide everything the client requires. “With this model, customers can get the more flexibility and scalability can be done instantly, increasing the resources as per the customer’s requirements,” said AlMalik. “Cloud hosting service providers also set up virtual spaces on an as-needed basis and customers can leverage a pay-as-you-go arrangement.”
As the world continues to become digitally driven, organisations are continuously relying on cloud technologies to drive exceptional business outcomes. However, there remain several companies – especially SMBs – that struggle to shift to the cloud due to factors such as limited resources. Cloud hosting offers them the capability to address their cloud needs in a simpler and more economical manner.
“It’s definitely more cost-effective for SMBs. They can compete with large companies because they have the computing power and bring their business models to the cloud and look like a big company in terms of IT services they offer,” explained Niethammer.
By leveraging cloud hosting companies can avoid upfront costs and the need to employ large IT teams. Other benefits include fast patching and updates, increased reliability and dependability and the ability to upscale when demand is high or the company grows.
Supporting Niethammer’s insights, AlMalik highlighted how cloud hosting can provide SMBs with easier access to tools that will allow them to innovate with the cloud. “In addition, cloud hosting providers invest significantly in security. So, they can benefit from more secure systems,” he said.
Further, into the discussions, the speakers compiled a checklist that businesses should follow when selecting a CSP including:
- Ensure that the CSP adheres to industry standards
- The CSP’s services should align with the needs of the company
- The CSP’s data security and governance practices should be state-of-the-art
- The CSP should have a proven track record of reliability and performance
- The CSP should provide a complete portfolio of services, from support to integration
- The client should look for competitive pricing and bundled offers
- The CSP should be part of an ecosystem of providers and partnerships; they should be a ‘one-stop-shop’, able to offer the client a wide range of solutions
- The CSP should provide a roadmap of services it will provide within the client’s industry
The CommScope and Moro Hub promise
Commscope is Moro Hub’s chosen infrastructure provider for their data centres, “We offer the backbone of the network,” said Niethammer. “We do that modularly at high performance and in a future-proof way. We want to make sure that wherever the technology goes, Moro Hub’s infrastructure is prepared to address the demands today and tomorrow.”
Niethammer further explained that for Moro Hub’s customers, their partnership offers numerous benefits including access to industry-leading products soon after their release. Commscope also helps clients with network design and migration planning around current and future needs. “Technology, bandwidth and architecture requirements all evolve. We want to equip customers with infrastructure that can cope with future demands,” he said.
AlMalik echoed Niethammer, saying that the two companies are dedicated to bringing the best digital transformation experience to their clients. “We provide higher performance and faster installation and offer multi-cloud private platforms to our clients,” he said. “Through our partnership with CommScope, we get to offer customers our unique multi-cloud private platform services. This allows them to benefit from different ‘flavours’ of the cloud. We also have our public cloud offerings from hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon. We also pride ourselves on our team of multi-skilled professionals that can help customers manage and secure their workloads.”
Looking ahead
While there are still challenges to be addressed, mostly in terms of capability and education among businesses, the cloud is here to stay and will almost certainly be a key driver for all future businesses.
“Clients need to trust CSPs to succeed in their move to the cloud. CSPs can provide them with the skills, technologies and security that they require. We are well-equipped to help them in their digital transformation journey,” said AlMalik.
For his part, Niethammer emphasised that the cloud will be here for the long haul. “A Gartner study revealed that, in the next few years, approximately 70% of global businesses will offer their services either entirely or partially in the cloud. This shows how the cloud will continue to change the way of doing business for both enterprises and customers.”
Meanwhile, moving forward, Yousuf advised companies to ensure that they begin with a well-defined strategy as they venture into the cloud. “The cloud is a very important part of your journey and you should have clear objectives going in. Once you’ve done this, you will be able to achieve the benefits and value creation faster,” he said.
