How cloud helps UAE’s digital transformation

The cloud sector has transformed in the UAE in recent years. Naturally, this has had a wide-ranging effect on corporates and individuals, who count on it to streamline their business and integrate it with other key technologies that are increasingly becoming more important in this fast-changing digital world.

UAE a role model

Cloud-led digital transformation is certainly on the rise in the UAE. Businesses now realise that cloud technologies enable agility, facilitate innovation and help achieve better return on investment. IDC estimates that digital transformation spending in the Meta region will surpass $32 billion by 2021 and will be a key driver for ICT spending. Furthermore, IDC also suggests that building “digital business at scale” will lead to organisations in the Meta region adopting a ‘cloud-first’ or ‘cloud-only’ approach, with spending on public cloud services crossing $1.1 billion in 2018.

Digital transformation is also at the centre of key national strategies including the UAE’s strategies for artificial intelligence, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, blockchain, data, the Internet of Things and autonomous transportation. These initiatives are aimed at driving the country’s socio-economic growth by offering a world-class experience to citizens, residents and visitors, and creating a conducive environment for nurturing innovation, attracting investments and driving business growth.

Oracle predicts that in 2018, enterprise security will become company job No.1 and much of it will be automated. With today’s ‘borderless enterprise’, as a result of the cloud, mobile and edge technologies like IoT, there is a general consensus that there is no such thing as ‘total security’. As a result, business information can no longer be protected by the IT team trying to create digital castles and restrict access.

The cybersecurity environment can be compared to having a nice house in a really bad neighbourhood. You would either want to invest in layered defense and protect your key assets or leave the neighbourhood altogether.

We will see an increasing focus on security amongst companies, especially with new regulations such as GDPR coming in with their associated penalties for failure.

Cloud with IoT, big data, etc

Cloud technology underpins all innovative ‘edge’ technologies like IoT, blockchain and AI. Some of these operate in on premise environment currently but going forward all enhancements and improvements will be done in the cloud. The advantages of the cloud are many: lower cost, lower risk, higher security and greater agility. The most transformational technology to emerge in the cloud is autonomous services: self-driving, selfrepairing, self-securing.

Autonomous technology is a game-changer. This would not be possible without the cloud being available and prevalent. A major percentage of worldwide business applications already reside in the cloud, and we estimate that by 2020, 50 per cent of enterprise data will be managed autonomously in the cloud, while more than 80 per cent of business applications will have a component of AI in them, all running in the cloud.

Myths debunked

One of the main reasons enterprises continue to resist the cloud is security of their data. Companies are worried that they have too many integration to smoothly move to the cloud, and/or are afraid that they may have reduced control over their data.

Although all these concerns are valid during the transition process, the focal obstacle that prevents cloud adoption is maturity and mindset. Businesses must take a bolder approach now by aggressively learning and seeking proper consultation for what their business needs, and which cloud solutions they should opt for. Once they venture into the world of the cloud, they will be able to innovate and transform their businesses and will certainly witness possibilities that weren’t even possible without the cloud.