Google Cloud announced opening of its Doha cloud region at an official launch event attended by ministers from the Qatari Cabinet and executives from Qatari businesses, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Qatar Free Zone Authority. The new cloud region will meet growing demand for cloud services in Qatar and the Middle East region and support Qatar’s National Vision 2030 that aims to transform the country into a digital economy through innovation and digital transformation.
The new Doha region is part of Google Cloud’s global network of 37 regions and 112 zones that bring cloud services to over 200 countries and territories worldwide. The new region brings high-performance, low-latency services and products to customers of all sizes, from public sector organisations, to large enterprises, to small and medium enterprises and startups in Qatar and the Middle East.
Organisations in the region will benefit from key controls that allow them to maintain the security, data residency, and compliance standards, including specific data storage requirements.
According to research commissioned by Google Cloud and conducted by Access Partnership, the new Doha cloud region is expected to drive increased economic activity and is estimated to contribute a cumulative US$18.9 billion in higher gross economic output to the economy of Qatar between 2023 and 2030 and support the creation of 25,000 jobs in 2030 alone.
This new cloud region is the latest significant investment made by Google Cloud in Qatar, following the recent opening of a country office and virtual center of excellence in Msheireb.
MCIT and the Qatari government have helped enable the growth of cloud across the government through the adoption of cloud policies, which facilitated Google Cloud’s market entry.
QFZ and Google Cloud’s strategic collaboration agreement to enable in-country Google Cloud presence was announced in early 2020. QFZ’s continued support of the launch of the Center of Excellence has helped the growth of the technology ecosystem in Qatar.
Later in June, Mindware announced distribution agreement with Google Cloud to develop the channel and grow the business across the Middle East and North Africa. The agreement will see Mindware promote Google Cloud portfolio and Workspace across the countries of United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Yemen, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq.
With the support of Google Cloud, the distributor will extend its portfolio with specialised solutions around Data & Analytics, API Management, industry- Artificial Intelligence, AI and Machine Learning, ML services for improved business outcomes, application development and delivery acceleration.
Mindware will deploy a strategy and methodology of addressing Google Cloud’s requirements to expand its business in the regional markets. The company will deliver increased sales of Google Cloud solutions through a new ecosystem including Managed Service Providers, MSPs, Independent Software Vendors, ISVs, and leveraging the Mindware Cloud Marketplace and professional and support services.
With the Google Cloud portfolio, Mindware partners will be able to offer their customers the flexibility to migrate, build, and optimise applications across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, while minimising vendor lock-in, leveraging best-in-breed solutions, and meeting regulatory requirements. The collaboration will allow Mindware to strengthen its reach in the market, based on vertical solutions especially in the education sector, and the access to the open source ecosystem.
“The MENA market offers great potential. Mindware will support Google Cloud in aggregating cloud solutions through a reseller ecosystem at scale, providing more organisations with greater access to the Cloud experts and technologies they need to drive positive business outcomes in the Cloud,” said Abdulrahman Al Thehaiban, Managing Director for META, Google Cloud.