Saudi Arabia Welcomes Oracle’s Second Public Cloud Region

The newly established Riyadh cloud region will enable both public and private sector organizations to seamlessly migrate various workloads to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), providing access to a broad range of cloud services that facilitate application modernization and innovation through data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI). Center3 has been designated as the host partner for the new Oracle Cloud Riyadh Region.

This initiative is part of Oracle's broader distributed cloud strategy and reflects its substantial US $1.5 billion investment aimed at enhancing cloud infrastructure capabilities within Saudi Arabia. The new cloud region is expected to significantly contribute to the Kingdom's burgeoning AI economy, projected to reach $135.2 billion by 2030. The Oracle Cloud Riyadh Region complements the existing Oracle Cloud Jeddah Region and the planned Oracle Cloud Region in NEOM, further extending Oracle's presence in Saudi Arabia.

Notably, Oracle stands out as the only hyperscaler capable of delivering a comprehensive suite of over 100 cloud services, including AI capabilities, across dedicated, public, and hybrid cloud environments worldwide. This suite encompasses offerings such as Oracle Autonomous Database, HeatWave MySQL Database Service, Oracle Container Engine for Kubernetes, Oracle Cloud VMware Solution, OCI Generative AI service, OCI AI Infrastructure, and OCI Supercluster.

His Excellency Eng. Haytham Alohali, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, commented on the significance of the new cloud region, stating, “The opening of Oracle’s new cloud region in Riyadh reflects the Kingdom’s continuous efforts in boosting the digital economy based on modern technologies and innovation. This step will significantly enable international and local companies to achieve innovation and promote the adoption of AI and cloud computing technologies in various sectors, enhancing Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness at the regional and international level.”

Richard Smith, Executive Vice President and General Manager of EMEA Cloud Infrastructure at Oracle, emphasized the company's commitment to supporting Saudi Arabia in developing a robust digital economy. “With the rapid expansion of our cloud footprint in Saudi Arabia, Oracle is committed to helping the country achieve its goal of developing one of the strongest digital economies in the world. As part of our broader investment in cloud capabilities in Saudi Arabia, the Oracle Cloud Riyadh Region will help accelerate the adoption of cloud and AI technologies, boosting innovation across all sectors of the Saudi economy while also addressing local data hosting requirements.”

The introduction of the Oracle Cloud Riyadh Region enhances OCI's resilience and scalability, providing customers and partners with low-latency access to cloud services that maximize the value derived from their data. Businesses can benefit from high availability, backup, and disaster recovery capabilities across both the Riyadh and Jeddah regions, ensuring business continuity and compliance with local data hosting regulations. Moreover, OCI’s sovereign AI capabilities offer customers greater control over the location and management of their data and computing infrastructure, enabling them to utilize AI tools designed with digital sovereignty frameworks in mind.

OCI's innovative cloud architecture allows Oracle to establish dedicated cloud regions with hyperscale services directly within customer data centers, facilitating the rapid deployment of additional public cloud regions. This strategic approach ensures that Oracle meets the diverse needs of various countries and markets without compromising on cloud capabilities, while maintaining the consistent performance, service level agreements (SLAs), and competitive pricing that OCI is known for.

The launch of the new public cloud region has been welcomed by partners and analysts alike. Fahad Alhajeri, CEO of Center3, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Oracle as they expand their cloud infrastructure in Saudi Arabia with the new Riyadh cloud region. This strategic initiative aligns with our shared vision of fostering technological innovation and advancing the digital economy of the Kingdom. Oracle’s cloud regions in Saudi Arabia will play a vital role in enhancing data sovereignty, driving digital transformation, and empowering businesses across the country to achieve greater agility and growth.”

Jyoti Lalchandani, Regional Managing Director for IDC covering the Middle East, Türkiye, Africa, and India, emphasized the importance of Oracle’s expansion in Saudi Arabia, noting, “Oracle’s continued expansion of its cloud footprint in Saudi Arabia is vital as companies increasingly leverage AI and generative AI capabilities. Local cloud infrastructure ensures faster data processing, improved security, and compliance with national regulations, allowing organizations to innovate more efficiently and effectively. This strategic move not only supports the Kingdom’s vision to harness artificial intelligence for digital transformation but also empowers companies to fully exploit the potential of AI, driving competitive advantages and generating local value and growth within the Kingdom.”

Overall, the establishment of the Oracle Cloud Riyadh Region is a pivotal step in bolstering Saudi Arabia's digital economy, facilitating innovation, and positioning the Kingdom as a leader in the global technology landscape.