Denis Fraval-Olivier, SEMEA Director Solutions Engineering at Cloudera, highlights rapid AI adoption, cloud evolution, and rising demand for secure, Private AI–driven data platforms across key Middle East sectors.
What is the significance of the Evolve event for Cloudera and its partners in the region?
Evolve is our annual platform where we bring customers and partners together to share business updates, technology direction, financial confidence, and the future roadmap. It is also a chance for Cloudera’s senior leadership—including C-level executives—to personally meet customers in the Middle East and reaffirm commitment to the region. The event enables us to discuss market trends such as increased cloud adoption, data sovereignty concerns, and the growing demand for future-proof platforms that support long-term digital goals.
How has Cloudera’s vision evolved alongside the transformation of the data and AI industries?
Cloudera’s evolution has come in three phases. The first began with democratizing big data—making powerful data platforms accessible beyond the world of major internet companies. The second stage was driven by cloud, which introduced flexibility, scale, and consumption-based economics. The third and present era is defined by AI, where users can interact with data using natural language without needing programming knowledge. AI, however, raises issues around privacy and security, which is why Cloudera advocates for Private AI—LLM-powered capabilities deployed in the customer’s own environment to maintain control and compliance.
With AI gaining momentum, how is Cloudera addressing rising concerns around cloud and data security?
Security is a core differentiator for Cloudera, especially because we are open source. Our code is visible, enabling vulnerabilities to be discovered and resolved rapidly. We also partner with Chainguard to ensure we release software versions with zero known CVEs. Additionally, our platform includes strong governance, auditing, and access controls to help enterprises comply with diverse regulatory frameworks. Whether deployed on cloud or on-premises, customers can maintain visibility, oversight, and secure policies across their environments.
Which industries are driving the strongest demand for Cloudera in the Middle East?
We are active across several verticals, but BFSI, telecom, government, and oil and gas are among the strongest adopters. Across the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa regions, we work with major enterprises in nearly every sector, including travel, healthcare, and utilities. We are also expanding further with a new legal entity launching in Saudi Arabia in early 2026, signaling a deeper long-term commitment to the Kingdom.
How does Cloudera support industrial and OT-focused cybersecurity environments?
Cybersecurity ultimately depends on the ability to collect, store, and analyze large volumes of machine, network, and user data. Traditional SIEM tools often struggle with scale and diversity of data sources. Cloudera enables organizations to ingest data at scale and apply machine learning rather than relying solely on static detection rules. One of the major oil and gas companies in Saudi Arabia is already using Cloudera for cybersecurity operations, benefiting from predictive analytics, long-term data retention, and richer threat analysis. While no system can guarantee absolute protection, this approach significantly strengthens an enterprise’s ability to detect and respond to risks intelligently.
How do you see AI reshaping enterprise operations in the next few years?
AI is already transforming IT and business functions—from automated report creation and compliance documentation to customer service and software development. With natural language interfaces, non-technical staff can now ask questions, build dashboards, and interpret data without needing to write code. Combined with data lineage and system understanding, AI agents can automate integrations between systems and adapt dynamically as environments change. Cloudera also uses AI internally to analyze customer requirements and improve operational efficiency.
Many enterprises face infrastructure challenges with AI workloads. How are you helping customers accelerate adoption?
We have partnered with NVIDIA and other ecosystem players to help customers leverage specialized infrastructure. Many organizations already have GPU-based systems installed, but their data is fragmented across environments. Cloudera brings the AI to where the data already lives instead of forcing massive migrations into isolated AI-only systems. This model accelerates adoption, maintains governance and cost control, and allows enterprises to begin deploying AI immediately while modernizing infrastructure at their own pace.
What is Cloudera’s overall outlook for the Middle East market?
The Middle East is growing faster than many other global regions as digital transformation and national data strategies accelerate. Governments and enterprises are moving rapidly from traditional analytics to AI-powered automation. Cloudera is expanding its workforce and increasing investment in Saudi Arabia and other markets. With strong presence across telecom, government, energy, and finance, we are confident in continued growth and our role in helping enterprises modernize platforms and build AI-ready environments.
