The adoption of cloud technology by the publicis expected to add $181 billion in economic value to the UAE over the next decade, according to a report.
That is equal to 2.5 per cent of the Emirates’ economy.
Nearly 1 per cent increase in cloud adoption by the UAE organisations will result in a 0.21 per cent or $854.7 million average gross domestic product growth, which is three times the Middle East and North Africa average and the highest in the region, the report commissioned by Amazon Web Services found.
Public cloud is a deployment model where computing resources are owned and operated by a service provider and shared by various tenants or companies.
“The UAE can accelerate its digital transformation and unlock new opportunities for economic growth and social development [using cloud]," Yasser Hassan, managing director, commercial sector, for Mena and Turkey at AWS, said.
“As cloud computing continues to gain momentum, it is imperative for the UAE to continue to support cloud adoption and develop a skilled workforce to enhance the country's competitiveness on a global scale.”
More than 91 per cent of the cloud adoption impact in the UAE can be attributed to the national productivity gains or “spillover effects” on the economy, while the remainder is driven by cloud spending from UAE public and private organisations.
As an economic stimulant, cloud computing is 17 per cent more effective in the UAE than mobile broadband, the report said.
For businesses, moving to a cloud system hosted by a specialised company – such as Oracle, AWS or SAP – is more economical than creating their own infrastructure of servers, hardware and security networks, industry experts said. It also brings down the overall cost of ownership.
In the cloud industry, businesses pay only for those selective services or resources they use over a period of time.
In 2021, almost 43 per cent of organisations in the UAE region adopted cloud computing, compared to 49 per cent in Western Europe and North America region.
In the same year, public cloud adoption added 2.26 per cent to the country’s GDP, generating an economic value of $9.5 billion.
The adoption of cloud has already led to increased efficiency, cost savings and job creation in various industries, said Mr Hassan.
“As more businesses and organisations continue to migrate to the cloud, the economic benefits are expected to grow even further,” he added.
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
