New revenues reaching around USD$27 billion will be generated in the UAE over the next four years by Microsoft, its partners and cloud-using customers, according to new research by premier global market intelligence firm, IDC and sponsored by Microsoft.
This cloud ecosystem is expected to propel the UAE economy upwards from the 2020 level, creating jobs and driving investment in local economies, including in sustainable solutions which will see a reduction in atmospheric carbon.
The IDC Info Snapshot, sponsored by Microsoft, ‘The Microsoft Cloud Dividend Snapshot: United Arab Emirates’ reflects on the positive impact of Microsoft’s cloud regions in the UAE following its launch in June 2019, with the aim to deliver the complete, intelligent and trusted Microsoft Cloud to governments, organizations and start-ups in the Middle East Region.
Now, more than ever, these investments will accelerate digital transformation journeys in the country, empowering organizations to recover faster and reimagine their industries. The research also forecasts that Microsoft’s cloud ecosystem, which includes its partners and cloud-using customers, will add 69,000 new jobs to the UAE economy by 2024 with 16,000 created for skilled IT professionals.
“The arrival of Microsoft UAE datacenters in 2019,solidified the role of the cloud as an enabler of digital transformation supporting data residency, security and agility needs of the region,” said Sayed Hashish, General Manager, Microsoft UAE. “In 2020, the cloud accelerated our role to become the first responders in the digital world to empower organizations to adapt to challenges. And, in 2021 and beyond, the cloud is set to reinvent industries and drive more resilience while building capabilities, bolstering job creation, driving sustainability and advancing economic growth.”
The IDC research also reveals that Microsoft and its partner ecosystem, in support of growing their local businesses, will spend about $2.3 billion in the datacenter region for services and products in local economies. The new datacenter region will help to eliminate some of the barriers to cloud adoption within the region and account for 21.1% of the new revenue total ($27.0B) through to 2024.
“The Microsoft cloud regions have the advantages of meeting the data privacy and governance needs of organizations including governments, financial services institutions as well as the healthcare sector,” continued Hashish. “This is achieved by the broadest compliance, security, privacy and certification standards with the most effective prevention and mitigation measures in the industry.”
IDC’s research also sheds light on downstream revenues generated by Microsoft’s partner ecosystem. The findings reveal that for every $1 of Microsoft cloud-generated revenue, the partner ecosystem is expected to generate $7.76 by 2024, up from $6.01 in 2020.
The research can be accessed here.
