Saudi Arabia’s cloud computing sector valued at SAR 6 bln in 2021; Zain Cloud cuts operational costs by 50%: Exec

Saad Al Sadhan, Chief Business and Wholesale Officer at Zain KSA

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The cloud computing sector in Saudi Arabia was estimated at more than SAR 6 billion in 2021, and is expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25% in 2024, Saad Al Sadhan, Chief Business and Wholesale Officer at Mobile Telecommunication Company Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA), told Argaam.

 

He added that Zain KSA seeks to keep pace with the cloud computing developments to meet the needs of customers and aspirations of service providers through offering innovative technical solutions.

 

Zain Cloud supports reducing operational costs by 50% to customers.

 

Here’s the full interview:

 

Q: When did Zain KSA start creating and developing cloud services? How much is your total investment in this sector?

 

A: We work according to an operational and development strategy, based on qualitative investments and innovation, to keep pace with the current and future needs of the telecommunications and digital services sector in the Kingdom.

 

Through this strategy, we are keen to achieve three main goals, namely strengthening and deepening the telecommunications and digital services sector to boost its contribution to the national economy, support the digital transformation and build a diversified and sustainable digital economy, as per the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. The goals also include providing individuals, business sector and government entities with the latest and most innovative services and products to support achieving the objectives of each category in the telco’s customer base. This also includes localizing topnotch technologies and developing them with the help of national minds and competencies.

 

In April 2020, the telecom operator launched the “Zain Cloud”, which is characterized as a local public cloud based in Saudi Arabia. This easy and completely-secure cloud is compatible with the requirements of data protection in the Kingdom. Customers, whether individuals or businesses, can make use of cloud infrastructure services and software at “Zain Cloud Marketplace” to manage their business as well as take appropriate strategic steps and decisions in an interactive and fully-digital manner.

 

After its launch, in partnership with major global cloud computing companies, Zain Cloud developed and expanded its portfolio of innovative services and products. To fulfill demand from various customers for Zain KSA’s technical solutions, we expanded our cloud capabilities by establishing a completely new data center as well as a backup data center.

 

The capabilities of this cloud increased after the telco launched the 5G network and deployed it across 53 Saudi cities through more than 5,000 towers. This makes Zain Cloud accessible to all, to be as an accelerator and enabler to implement the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart cities projects across the Kingdom.

 

We were also keen to enhance the cloud’s cyber protection, as it achieved the Class (C) classification from the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), which is the highest rating granted by the authority to cloud computing service providers.

 

This classification is a recognition that Zain KSA has a strong base of security, reliability and safe operation that preserves the data of various customers.

 

In light of this classification, Zain Cloud is authorized to provide its services to individuals, government, private and non-profit sectors. In addition to having other certificates in security and reliability of cloud services, the telecom operator obtained ISO 27017 and ISO 27018 as part of the ISO 27001 ISMS certifications related to information security management systems. The certificates focus on the secure management of computing service providers.

 

The ISO 27017 confirms the company's ability to enhance the security of cloud solutions and reduce their risks to customers, in addition to its implementation of some practices and guidelines aimed at helping cloud service customers and providers to safely and effectively operate cloud services. This, accordingly, protects their sites from cyber risks.

 

Meanwhile, the ISO 27018 reflects Zain KSA’s commitment to control objectives and acceptable guidelines for the preparation of procedures related to the protection of personal identifiable information (PII), as per the privacy principles stated in ISO 29100 for the public cloud computing environment.

 

Q: What is the business related to cloud services in the Kingdom?

 

A: Cloud services are the future of business, and they became a decisive factor in the growth and expansion of the business system in the Kingdom. This is in addition to the effect of improving the quality of Saudi business sector’s output, enhancing its digital competitiveness, and reducing its operational costs.

 

Actually, the combination of cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), big data and high-speed 5G network will enhance the spread of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, to provide customers with an unprecedented experience and support the digital transformation at various levels in the Kingdom.

 

Through its comprehensive benefits to various service and production sectors, cloud computing will contribute to raising the efficiency of these sectors, whether they are public or private.

 

The service will also contribute to raising the sectors’ productivity through providing effective solutions for data processing, which helps them fulfill future needs and developments of the local market.

 

Furthermore, cloud computing will also enhance data governance and security to ensure the quality of digital outputs, along with reducing their costs and expanding profit margins for such entities.

 

This reflects the importance of Zain Cloud for the future of business, as well as the capabilities of future technologies and use cases related to future 5G technologies and applications, including the IoT, as well as robotic and AI services, machine learning (ML), blockchain, drones and augmented reality (AR).

 

Thankfully, we obtained a city service provider classification certificate from the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, which reflects our capabilities to implement major government projects, according to the criteria specified by the classification.

 

Q: Based on your studies, what are your estimates of for the size and growth of IoT, robotic services, blockchain, drones and AR sectors in the Kingdom? 

 

A: The Kingdom became a global digital hub, based on a certification from the highest international references. It witnesses a tremendous annual growth in the communications and information technology (CIT) sector, driven mainly by the growth in data and cloud computing services.

 

According to a report by the International Data Corporation (IDC), the size of the world’s cloud computing services market grew by about 17% from 2019 to 2020.

 

The market continues to grow at a CAGR of 17.8%, and is expected to reach a sufficient maturity in 2023. It would grow gradually at a CAGR of 7% until 2030.

 

The Kingdom is a contributor to the growth of the global cloud computing market, as the market was estimated at more than SAR 6 billion in 2021, with a CAGR of 25% by 2024, according to the IDC report.

 

In addition, the market is expected to reach maturity with more than SAR 19 billion in early 2025.

 

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia ranked second among the G20 countries, according to the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2021 issued by European Center for Digital Competitiveness.

 

I believe that several changes the world is experiencing, starting from the outbreak of COVID-19, drew the general features of the digital economy for the future of business. This, accordingly, accelerated the use of cloud computing services and increased total spending on these services, as well as their applications and related infrastructure. 

 

The high spending on cloud computing was accompanied by great legislative efforts, which were culminated by adopting the cloud computing policy by the National Committee for Digital Transformation in October 2020. This aims to accelerate and adopt cloud computing services, as well as to enhance spending, flexibility and reliability, in addition to boosting cybersecurity, innovation and operational efficiency. 

 

Zain KSA seeks to keep pace with these developments to upgrade the cloud computing market in order to meet the needs of customers and aspirations of service providers, through providing innovative technical solutions that contribute to supporting the building of a modern and comprehensive digital world.

 

Q: What are the details of services provided in Zain Cloud portfolio? How does it benefit customers?

 

A: Zain Cloud has a diverse portfolio of services and products, and we continue to develop our cloud computing services to ensure the transformation of Zain Cloud into an integrated platform for services and products that provide added value to customers through modern solutions that keep pace with future requirements and overcome any potential technical challenges.

 

We work with global technology giants through strategic partnerships aimed at development and innovation. Thus, Zain Cloud portfolio was recently enhanced with new services and products, such as Cloud SD-WAN service, which allows customers, specifically organizations that have business in multiple sectors and branches in different regions, to operate their applications safety, efficiently and reliably. The service also helps cut operational costs by 50%.

 

Further, Zain Cloud provided Zain Calls as a service for communications solutions. Thus, it became the only company in the Kingdom that provides this platform based on a local cloud compatible with data protection requirements and cybersecurity standards in the Kingdom and offers various packages of voice and video packages.

 

We also offer a video surveillance service that is not only aimed at surveillance but also visual analysis and smart solutions through a single platform capable of connecting multiple geographical locations.

 

Zain Cloud also provides e-mail, file sharing, and reliable backup storage services. These services provide corporate IT departments with simple and effective ways to ensure the safety and availability of their data.

 

Moreover, Zain Cloud introduced a push-to-talk service, which will provide a more secure and stable environment for business communication. It will also provide subscribers with a strong and reliable platform capable of deploying cloud structures to support current and future business in order to serve the digital transformation of enterprises.

 

The company also concluded agreements with peers to deliver next-generation IoT solutions to enable accurate and consistent reporting of project management procedures, as well as to ensure worker safety in industrial and construction sites.

 

Zain Cloud provides multi-option services to stratify customer needs at a competitive cost, so that it does not entail any initial cost or monthly commitment.

 

This, accordingly, helps reduce operational costs for customers by up to 50%. The cloud computing services are also accompanied by data and voice packages at low prices that suit all segments.

 

At the individual level, Zain Cloud played a major role in upgrading the digital entertainment experience in the Kingdom through collaborating with NVIDIA, the leading e-games provider, to exclusively launch the GeForce NOW cloud gaming platform, via the 5G network in the Kingdom.

 

This allowed the provision of a cloud game broadcasting platform, to broadcast several games to the most popular digital game stores, and help players enjoy them through various devices, without the need for any specific support devices.

 

The platform also provides e-games enthusiasts with more than 1,000 games that can be played on more than one device and from anywhere, without the need to download them. This is in addition to the features of self-updating and unlimited storage.

 

GeForce NOW is an integrated digital experience, and through cooperation between Zain KSA and NVIDIA, we will redefine the concept of e-games by providing a unique gaming experience that does not require certain devices, storage or advanced processing requirements.

 

We worked on expanding this partnership regionally, so that cloud game enthusiasts outside the Kingdom can enjoy their experiences through the 5G and home-fiber packages, without the need to upgrade their own devices.