UAE makes great strides on digital path

ALKESH SHARMA / Emirates Business

Digital transformation has been the success mantra for many enterprises in the Emirates. With the region’s digital economy set to surge twice over the next three years, data security and the continuous emergence of digital innovations are predicted to play a remarkable role in the UAE’s efforts to drive its digital economic growth. According to reports, region’s digital economy is set to cross $30 billion mark by 2018.
“In the UAE’s drive towards becoming knowledge-based and innovation-driven economy, digitalisation has a very crucial role to play. Besides expediting things, it brings most of the big data on an easily accessible platform and curbs unwanted impediments in the smooth flow of the work,” Mohammad Ali, a cyber-expert, working as an IT consultant with Dotnet Solutions (a Germany-based IT start-up) in Dubai, told Emirates Business.
As per the findings of a latest report of Deloitte Middle East, this region’s digital economy has witnessed nearly 30 percent progress in 2015 and it is further pegged to grow double in the upcoming three years, crossing $30 billion by 2018.
Industry experts said that as more and more number of enterprises are switching to digitalisation, there would be an increased need to improve upon the existing infrastructure and to take services of external hosting providers.
“The move towards digitisation is dramatically changing the MENA region, and UAE remains at the forefront as the leading internet economy in the region. As the digital landscape continues to rapidly evolve, companies in the UAE have expressed a demand for a hosting provider that is focussed on offering fast, secure and scalable hosting environments, coupled with one-to-one support,” said Sajid Iqbal, Co-founder, Director Strategy and Operations, Buzinessware, a prominent internet infrastructure services (IAAS) provider in the Middle East.
Also, there are estimates that UAE’s economy could save more than AED132 million annually by swapping to local web hosting options.
Ali added, “Local web hosting is a logical option to enhance sustainable operations and at the same time to curtail unwanted external costs. This concept is already very famous among enterprises, especially start-ups and SMEs that cannot afford
big costs during their initial years of operations, at Silicon Valley (US)
and many UAE businesses are also showing keen interest in this business territory.”
“This service allows a company to make its site accessible to the world at very economical price. However, choosing a web host could be a daunting task and it requires meticulous selection while keeping the exact target audience in the mind,” he pointed out.
According to Buzinessware’s recent research report, 91 percent of an estimated 335,450 companies in the UAE are known to host offshore, at an average cost of AED800 annually, while local hosting packages are priced at AED365 for the same service and data allowance.
“We are looking at a bright future ahead of us, in terms of digital economic growth. Countries and companies that have gotten ahead and embraced the digital transformation will uncover limitless possibilities to drive innovation, growth and jobs of the future,” added Iqbal.