PHOTO
MANAMA: A multi-million dollar investment by Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon.com, in Bahrain will make the kingdom a regional operations hub for its cloud computing services, it has emerged.
While the amount of investment was not disclosed, AWS’s worldwide public sector vice-president Teresa Carlson told a Press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay that by early 2019 it would have three availability zones (also known as data centres) in Bahrain adding up to about 300,000 servers.
“This (the new data centres) will also create several jobs in roles like solutions architects, engineers and business development managers,” she said, declining to specify the number of jobs that will be created.
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, and Economic Development Board chairman welcomed the announcement.
“Today’s announcement is a significant moment for Bahrain and the region. For the kingdom, the expansion of regional cloud capacity builds upon a business environment that is already driving innovation and entrepreneurship, using technology to accelerate economic diversification in Bahrain,” said the Crown Prince.
“Through improved efficiencies, access to new career opportunities, and helping to enhance the delivery of government services, this marks further realisation of the principles of sustainability, fairness, and competitiveness that form the core of Bahrain’s Vision 2030,” he added
During the Press conference held on the sidelines of the first-ever AWS Summit in Bahrain, Economic Development Board chief executive Khalid Al Rumaihi said Amazon Web Services committing to expanding its presence into the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region from Bahrain is a major enabler for technology and data-driven business across the GCC.
“This will benefit global corporates, SMEs, entrepreneurs, and governments alike,” added Mr Al Rumaihi.
According to him, the new infrastructure created by AWS will bring with it the ability to store and share data at speeds the Gulf has never experienced before.
“This has the potential to help companies gain competitive advantage, allowing them to compete more effectively at a global level.
“With such a young, technologically adept, and growing population, the Gulf is well positioned to drive innovation in mobile applications and digital services.
“I am very eager to see how our region’s entrepreneurs will make use of this exciting opportunity,” said Mr Al Rumaihi.
In a statement, AWS chief executive Andy Jassy said cloud technology will be key in helping the Middle East governments to innovate and grow their economies.
“As countries in the Middle East look to transform their economies for generations to come, technology will play a major role and the cloud will be in the middle of that transformation,” he said.
“Some of the most gratifying parts of operating AWS over the last 11 years have been helping thousands of new companies get started, empowering large enterprises to reinvent their customer experiences, and allowing governments and academic institutions to innovate for citizens again. We look forward to making this happen across the Middle East.”
Currently, AWS provides 44 Availability Zones across 16 infrastructure regions worldwide.
AWS also announced it will launch an AWS Edge Network Location in the UAE in the first quarter of 2018.
This will bring Amazon CloudFront, Amazon Route 53, AWS Shield, and AWS WAF to the region and adds to the 78 points of presence AWS has around the world.
avinash@gdn.com.bh
While the amount of investment was not disclosed, AWS’s worldwide public sector vice-president Teresa Carlson told a Press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay that by early 2019 it would have three availability zones (also known as data centres) in Bahrain adding up to about 300,000 servers.
“This (the new data centres) will also create several jobs in roles like solutions architects, engineers and business development managers,” she said, declining to specify the number of jobs that will be created.
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, and Economic Development Board chairman welcomed the announcement.
“Today’s announcement is a significant moment for Bahrain and the region. For the kingdom, the expansion of regional cloud capacity builds upon a business environment that is already driving innovation and entrepreneurship, using technology to accelerate economic diversification in Bahrain,” said the Crown Prince.
“Through improved efficiencies, access to new career opportunities, and helping to enhance the delivery of government services, this marks further realisation of the principles of sustainability, fairness, and competitiveness that form the core of Bahrain’s Vision 2030,” he added
During the Press conference held on the sidelines of the first-ever AWS Summit in Bahrain, Economic Development Board chief executive Khalid Al Rumaihi said Amazon Web Services committing to expanding its presence into the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region from Bahrain is a major enabler for technology and data-driven business across the GCC.
“This will benefit global corporates, SMEs, entrepreneurs, and governments alike,” added Mr Al Rumaihi.
According to him, the new infrastructure created by AWS will bring with it the ability to store and share data at speeds the Gulf has never experienced before.
“This has the potential to help companies gain competitive advantage, allowing them to compete more effectively at a global level.
“With such a young, technologically adept, and growing population, the Gulf is well positioned to drive innovation in mobile applications and digital services.
“I am very eager to see how our region’s entrepreneurs will make use of this exciting opportunity,” said Mr Al Rumaihi.
In a statement, AWS chief executive Andy Jassy said cloud technology will be key in helping the Middle East governments to innovate and grow their economies.
“As countries in the Middle East look to transform their economies for generations to come, technology will play a major role and the cloud will be in the middle of that transformation,” he said.
“Some of the most gratifying parts of operating AWS over the last 11 years have been helping thousands of new companies get started, empowering large enterprises to reinvent their customer experiences, and allowing governments and academic institutions to innovate for citizens again. We look forward to making this happen across the Middle East.”
Currently, AWS provides 44 Availability Zones across 16 infrastructure regions worldwide.
AWS also announced it will launch an AWS Edge Network Location in the UAE in the first quarter of 2018.
This will bring Amazon CloudFront, Amazon Route 53, AWS Shield, and AWS WAF to the region and adds to the 78 points of presence AWS has around the world.
avinash@gdn.com.bh
Copyright 2017 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
