AWS opens second regional hub in UAE

Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company, announced on Wednesday the launch of its second Region in the Middle East, the AWS Middle East (UAE) Region.

Developers, startups, entrepreneurs, and enterprises, as well as government, education, and nonprofit organisations will have even greater choice for running their applications and serving end users from data centres located in the (UAE), using advanced AWS technologies to drive innovation.

AWS estimates that its projected spending on the construction and operation of the new region will support an average of nearly 6,000 full-time jobs annually at external vendors, with a planned $5 billion (Dh20 billion) investment in the local economy through 2036.

The AWS Middle East (UAE) Region will also add an estimated $11 billion (Dh41 billion) over the next 15 years to the UAE’s gross domestic product (GDP).

“AWS is committed to helping customers in the UAE deploy the most advanced cloud technologies and achieve the highest levels of security, availability, and resiliency,” said Prasad Kalyanaraman, vice-president of Infrastructure Services at AWS.

“With the launch of the AWS Middle East (UAE) Region, we are making it possible for even more customers to harness the power of the cloud to drive innovation across the UAE, while also investing in the local economy through job creation, training for highly sought-after technology skills, and education resources to further advance the UAE’s strategic priorities.”

“The opening of the AWS Middle East (UAE) Region is a significant milestone for Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a whole, reflecting our efforts to generate opportunities for all,” said Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.

“It strengthens Abu Dhabi’s commitment to positioning itself as a leading digital economy by leveraging cutting-edge technology to support business growth. The enhanced cloud capabilities enabled by AWS are expected to generate significant advantages and efficiencies that can propel businesses to success and realise major economic benefits for the country.”

With the launch of the AWS Middle East (UAE) Region, AWS has 87 Availability Zones across 27 geographic regions, with announced plans to launch 21 more Availability Zones and seven more AWS Regions in Australia, Canada, India, Israel, New Zealand, Spain, and Switzerland.

AWS Regions are composed of Availability Zones that place infrastructure in separate and distinct geographic locations.

Availability Zones are located far enough from each other to support customers’ business continuity, but near enough to provide low latency for high-availability applications that use multiple Availability Zones. Each Availability Zone has independent power, cooling, and physical security and is connected through redundant, ultra-low latency networks. AWS customers focused on high-availability can design their applications to run in multiple Availability Zones to achieve even greater fault tolerance.

The launch of the AWS Middle East (UAE) Region will enable local customers with data residency requirements to store data securely in the UAE, while providing customers with even lower latency across the country.

AWS is planning to invest an estimated $5 billion (Dh20 billion) in the UAE over the next 15 years through the new AWS Middle East (UAE) Region, which includes capital expenditures on the construction of data centres, operational expenses related to ongoing utilities and facility costs, and purchases of goods and services from regional businesses. The investment is also estimated to support an average of nearly 6,000 jobs annually during this time. These jobs will be part of the AWS supply chain in the UAE, including construction, facility maintenance, engineering, telecommunications, and jobs within the country’s broader economy. The construction and operation of AWS infrastructure in the UAE is also estimated to add an estimated $11 billion (Dh 41 billion) to the UAE’s GDP over the next 15 years.

“Abu Dhabi aims to enable transformative technology that delivers opportunities for businesses and residents alike,” said Abdulla Abdul Aziz AlShamsi, acting director general of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO).

“Smart infrastructure is powering the thriving private and public sectors by opening new economic possibilities, fostering inclusive growth, and creating opportunities for collaboration across our innovation ecosystem. At ADIO, we are contributing to this through many valuable ecosystem-enabling partnerships that support Abu Dhabi’s position as a leader in the region’s digital revolution. The AWS Middle East (UAE) Region is a welcome addition to the country’s innovation ecosystem, helping to build vital capabilities for all.”

Customers and AWS Partners welcome the news of the AWS Middle East (UAE) Region

Organizations in the UAE are among millions of active customers using AWS every month in more than 190 countries around the world, including tens of thousands of customers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). These customers leverage AWS to accelerate innovation, increase agility, and drive cost savings.

Enterprises that have chosen AWS to become more agile and innovative include Al Ghurair Investments, Al Tayer Group, Aramex, Axiom Telecom, Flydubai, GIG Gulf (previously AXA Gulf), OSN, Shahid, Seera Group, Virgin Middle East, and many more. MENA public sector organisations are using AWS to drive cost savings, accelerate innovation, and better serve the citizens of the region.

Examples of these organisations include Dubai Expo 2020, Egypt Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of Bahrain’s Ministries, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, and the University of Bahrain. MENA startups building their businesses on top of AWS to scale rapidly and expand around the world include Alef Education, Anghami, Careem, Dubizzle, EKar, Fetchr, Haraj, Maestro Pizza, Mawdoo3.com, Property Finder, Sarwa, Souqalmal, StarzPlay, and Yallacompare.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) is the largest Islamic bank in the UAE, and second largest Islamic bank in the world. "Dubai Islamic Bank has for many years championed the use of technology as a means for empowering customers and simplifying the overall banking experience,” said Obaid Al Shamsi, chief operating officer at DIB. “We pride ourselves in being a truly digitally intelligent bank that has been at the forefront of innovation and transformation, supporting the Nation’s leadership in realizing their vision for the UAE’s digital economy and establishing Dubai as a thriving hub of the global Islamic economy. Our digital transformation strategy is formulated with a clear focus on dissecting each step of the customer journey and removing any pain points for the customer. We’ve achieved this by taking a customer-centric approach and delivering convenient, fast and pleasant banking services within minutes rather than days. In line with this, we welcome the launch of the AWS Region in the UAE, which we expect will increase our agility and help accelerate the rate of innovation and experimentation with the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.”

The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) is responsible for the implementation of health care policy in all areas of technical, material, and coordination with the Ministries of State, and cooperation with the private sector in health locally and internationally. Earlier this year, AWS signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with MoHAP. “We welcome the launch of an AWS Region in UAE and look forward to the implementation of our agreement with AWS to assist MoHAP in modernizing the patient experience,” said Ali Juma AlAjme, director of the Digital Health Department at MoHAP. “Having the AWS Region in the UAE will allow us to accelerate our digital transformation program and build skills and capabilities, driving clinical and technological innovation and further strengthening the country’s position as a global health care leader. Our collaboration with AWS enables us to connect 100% of care providers—public and private—to further enhance our data strategy in support of predictive and population health programs. We are working to identify current data sources, flows, and targeted outcomes from a data-driven approach to decision making.”

business@khaleejtimes.com