At the recently concluded HUAWEI CLOUD Summit Middle East and Africa 2022 in Dubai, UAE, Huawei reiterated the cloud’s integral role in accelerating the region’s digital transformation and inspiring innovation across its industries. Under the theme, “Inspire Innovation with Everything as a Service”, the summit brought together over 1000 government leaders, customer representatives, and industry experts from the Middle East and Africa, exploring how cloud computing can serve and advance industries such as public services, finance, carriers, media, e-commerce, and gaming. During the summit, experts also shared how industries can better leverage cloud and AI technologies across various functions.
On the sidelines of the summit, Frank Dai, President, HUAWEI CLOUD Middle East, shared in an exclusive media roundtable, HUAWEI CLOUD’s vision of building the cloud foundation for an intelligent world with ubiquitous cloud and pervasive intelligence and detailed how HUAWEI CLOUD is providing ‘Everything as a Service’.
“Cloud is the future of ICT and the foundation of digital transformation in the Middle East. Cloud transformation has become a top priority for industries. To build the cloud infrastructure, there are four essential elements: technology, economic impact, talent ecosystem, and digital sovereignty. To this end, Huawei Cloud is working with partners to deepen digitalisation and provide Everything as a Service”, said Dai.
He added, “The key to successful digitalisation is an all-digital, all-cloud approach with Everything as a Service, which is underpinned by three pillars – Infrastructure as a Service, Technology as a Service and Expertise as a Service. This can accelerate digital transformation while also minimising the carbon footprint from their IT infrastructure, speed up the development of new apps and business processes, and enable organisations to innovate faster”.
Dai also spoke about Huawei’s focus on data security and privacy protection. The Company has invested heavily in cybersecurity, around $132.5 billion in terms of R&D with 5% of that investment going directly to cybersecurity. Huawei uses full-stack security products and ecosystem products to help customers build a security assurance system to ensure the security and reliability of customers’ services on the cloud.
Furthermore, Dai also highlighted that technologies such as 5G, IoT, and cloud, are more in demand than ever before. When combined, these technologies create immense productivity gains, especially during the unprecedented circumstances of a pandemic. They form the bedrock of a digital economy by enabling intelligent and flexible operations. These technologies are also providing new opportunities for SMEs to improve operational efficiency, promote innovation, expand their market and financing channels, and facilitate remote operations during the epidemic.
Some of the questions and responses asked at the roundtable discussion included the following:
Can you tell us about some of the solutions that Huawei have within their product portfolio that will better assist enterprises who are struggling to meet the demands of cloud transformation across the Middle East?
- To dive into digital and Inspire Innovation with Everything as a Service, Huawei Cloud shares leading technologies and innovations with enterprise customers and works alongside with them to drive new growth.
- During the summit we highlighted how an Everything as a Service model that incorporates Infrastructure as a Service, Technology as a Service, and Expertise as a Service can accelerate digital transformation of the organisations in the region, while also minimising the carbon footprint from their IT infrastructure to hit the sustainable development targets, speed up the development of new apps and business processes, and enable organisations to innovate faster.
- We believe business leaders should adopt Cloud Native 2.0 architectures to boost innovation and digitalisation. As one of the earliest adopters of container technology, Huawei has accumulated rich practical experience and provides fully vetted, full-stack container services for enterprise users to migrate applications to the cloud and succeed in the Cloud Native 2.0 era.
We know that the adoption of AI technologies and cloud have rocketed over the last 18 months, but what are Huawei’s expectations for growth over the next 3-5 years in the region?
- HUAWEI CLOUD is empowering and enabling organisations of all sizes to digitally transform their business operations and key services.
- To meet the requirements of governments, enterprises, the Internet, and SMEs, HUAWEI CLOUD Abu Dhabi Region was officially launched, and this year we are building a cloud region in Saudi Arabia. The hosting of the HUAWEI CLOUD region in the Middle East will boost local businesses and governments’ ability to access more robust and secure cloud services from Huawei and create new social and economic value in Saudi Arabia.
- We also recently announced investing USD15 million in the Middle East HUAWEI CLOUD Oasis program, to assist 3,000 experts, support over 1,500 consulting and technical partners, and empower more than 100 SMEs to develop their cloud capabilities.
- The program will also support more than 100 marketing events to help cultivate a thriving cloud ecosystem within the business community. The latest investment includes USD7.5 million being allocated for partner development, over USD2.5 million to be put behind credits and other cloud resources, and more than USD4.5 million in marketing support for program projects.
Last year, HUAWEI CLOUD launched the Abu Dhabi Region, and this year the company is building a cloud region in Saudi Arabia, with plans to expand to other markets. Hosting of the HUAWEI CLOUD region in the Middle East will boost local businesses and governments’ ability to access more robust and secure cloud services from Huawei and create new social and economic value in the region.
During the summit, Sara, Huawei Cloud’s first digital employee, made her debut in the region through holographic projection. The summit also showcased Huawei Cloud’s Spark Program 2022. The program will support local start-ups and partners in building their cloud capabilities.
Huawei has been present in the Middle East and Africa for over two decades and has been providing open, flexible, and secure ICT infrastructure to bridge the digital divide for more than 3500 enterprises and over 1.2 billion people in these two geographies. In 2021, Huawei Cloud Middle East announced an investment of USD15 million to accelerate the development of local enterprises and ecosystems. This money will cultivate more than 1000 consulting partners, 500 technical partners, 3000 certified experts, and several hundred SMEs.
Looking ahead, HUAWEI CLOUD will continue to expand the global data centre and network layout and is committed to providing customers, partners, and developers with one global network with a reliable experience. Currently, HUAWEI CLOUD has 27 regions worldwide, providing 220+ cloud services and 210+ solutions for 170+ countries. Collaborate with 20,000+ partners to contribute to digital transformation.
