Oracle has announced the launch of its newest cloud region in the UAE. Located in Abu Dhabi, the new cloud region, and the previously launched region in Dubai will offer all Oracle Cloud services, including Oracle Autonomous Database and Oracle Cloud Applications.
First announced in November 2021, the opening of the company’s latest cloud region reiterates its support for the UAE’s Fourth Industrial Revolution Strategy, which focuses on advancing the national economy by driving innovation with latest emerging technologies.
Oracle’s two cloud regions in the UAE will provide a secure, advanced, and agile platform for organisations to leverage the full potential of latest digital technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning and blockchain among others to achieve strategic business objectives.
Supporting the nation’s digital economy
Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said, “Oracle’s decision to open a second cloud region in the UAE is a clear reflection of our nation’s embrace of digital transformation, advanced technologies and the applications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which have become central to our economic and investment strategy for the next 50 years.”
He added that the nation is committed to developing an innovative- and knowledge-based economy that encourages the development and deployment of the technologies of the future, and attracting human, financial and technological capital to the nation is central to these ambitions.
“Oracle’s continued investment into the UAE will only accelerate this process, providing critical infrastructure, expertise and insights to further elevate the UAE’s standing as a place where the boldest ideas and biggest projects can come to life,” said Al Zeyoudi.
Boosting cybersecurity and fostering future talents
In addition to accelerating innovation in the UAE, Oracle’s Cloud Regions are also instrumental in enhancing cybersecurity initiatives in the country. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure’s (OCI) next-generation architecture provides a high-performing, resilient foundation for cloud services, while its physical and virtual network design maximises performance and security. Each Oracle Cloud region contains at least three fault domains, which are groupings of hardware that form logical data centres for high availability and resilience to hardware and network failures.
Dr. Mohamed Hamad Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity for the UAE Government highlighted that the UAE Government has rapidly transitioned from being a conventional set up to a ‘smart government’ entity, and now with the increasing pace of digital transformation across the country’s public and private sector, we are progressing towards being an AI enabled government.
“This progress is in line with the digital economy goals of our country, but we must also ensure that the ‘cyber resilience’ of the UAE is maintained to mitigate cybercrime and increase international collaboration. Oracle’s two cloud regions in the UAE are important investments towards providing cyber resilience and secure digital infrastructure for organisations to enjoy the full benefits of cloud computing,” said Al Kuwaiti.
Oracle is fully aligned with Abu Dhabi Digital Authority’s (ADDA) mandate of delivering digital services, platforms, channels, and implementation of applied intelligence and cybersecurity solutions for government entities. Oracle’s new cloud region in Abu Dhabi will help accelerate the authority’s efforts.
Furthermore, Oracle has been working towards creating a strong local IT talent pool in the UAE. Under the recently completed skills development initiatives with the UAE’s Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) and its commercial arm, the Centre of Excellence for Applied Research & Training (CERT), Oracle has upskilled 1,098 students in emerging technologies like AI, IoT, machine learning, and blockchain.