In a significant move aimed at advancing digital transformation in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East, Huawei Technologies has officially launched the Huawei Cloud Riyadh Region. This momentous announcement was made during the Huawei Cloud Summit Saudi Arabia 2023 and signifies Huawei’s commitment to providing innovative, secure, and sustainable cloud services in the region.
The Huawei Cloud Riyadh Region will be a pivotal player in serving the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa. It will offer a wide array of cloud services, including infrastructure, databases, containers, big data, and AI services, tailored to meet the diverse needs of various industries.
Steven Yi, Senior Vice President of Huawei and President of Huawei Middle East and Central Asia Region, shared his thoughts on the occasion, stating, “I’ve cherished numerous unforgettable moments in this extraordinary country. Just yesterday, walking through the newly renovated Diriyah evoked my deep emotions. It brought to mind an old Chinese saying: ‘Build the right nest, and a Phoenix will come.’ The essence is clear: create an inviting environment, and you’ll attract the best. This is undeniably true for Saudi, a nation that consistently attracts top investors.“
The Huawei Cloud Riyadh Region is strategically located in Riyadh and boasts a 3AZ (availability zone) architecture, ensuring highly available and secure cloud services to support the stable operations of various services. It also prioritizes data localization, complying with local data regulations, and ensuring low latency across all existing carrier networks.
In addition to the cloud services, Huawei Cloud will also deploy cutting-edge technologies to enhance intelligence in Saudi Arabia. Pangu Models 3.0, designed to address AI adoption challenges, will play a vital role in boosting AI capabilities across sectors like finance, government, manufacturing, and more.
H.E. Eng. Haitham bin Abdul Rahman Al-Ohali, Vice Minister at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in Saudi Arabia, expressed his enthusiasm about the launch, emphasizing Huawei’s integral role in the country’s technological progress. He stated, “Huawei is a proud partner in our country’s technological progress having worked with the Ministry, service providers, enterprises, and universities in various collective efforts towards digital transformation. We look forward to the transformative impact the Huawei Cloud Riyadh Region will have on our digital ecosystem, creating new avenues for innovation and growth.”
Furthermore, Huawei is launching the “Saudi Arabia Go Cloud Go Global” program to foster collaboration between Chinese and Saudi enterprises, thereby promoting growth and innovation. With extensive experience in over 170 countries and regions, Huawei aims to help Chinese enterprises expand into Saudi Arabia and strengthen partnerships with local stakeholders.
As part of its commitment to nurturing local talent and fostering innovation, Huawei Cloud also announced plans to train 200,000 developers in Saudi Arabia over the next five years. Additionally, it will collaborate with 1,000 local partners to develop joint solutions and launch the Huawei Cloud Startup Program to support the growth of 2,000 startups.
Huawei Saudi Arabia has been a key player in the country’s digital transformation journey since its establishment in 2002. Over the past 19 years, Huawei has collaborated with regional communication service providers to ensure reliable network services for the Hajj pilgrimage, supported the rollout of 5G in the Kingdom, created jobs, and cultivated ICT talents, contributing significantly to Saudi Arabia’s technological advancement.
Eric Yang, CEO of Huawei Saudi Arabia, expressed his optimism about the future, stating, “We are proudly launching Huawei Cloud Riyadh Region today. It has been a great journey for us in Saudi Arabia for the last 20 years. Huawei is a constructor for an intelligent society, contributor to a thriving economy, and cultivator for a prosperous talent ecosystem. Towards 2030, we will stay dedicated to continuously providing ubiquitous connectivity, green energy, pervasive cloud computing, and AI capabilities for Saudi Arabia to unlock unlimited opportunities of the new digital era.”
This launch is part of Huawei Cloud’s broader “Everything as a Service” strategy, reinforcing its position as a global cloud service provider . As Huawei continues to expand its cloud services, it seeks to leverage its expertise to drive digitalization and innovation across industries in Saudi Arabia and beyond.
Read Next: AI advancements propel NVIDIA to elite trillion-dollar club, says GlobalData
