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Despite a global campaign for the adoption of cloud services, Qatar’s private sector in particular has struggled to embrace the cloud with adoption rates below the global trend, professional services firm PwC said in a new report. report.
With the adoption of cloud services accelerated by the pandemic, the report examines barriers to entry into Qatar’s private sector and how organizations can overcome these challenges.
During the pandemic, cloud spending has grown rapidly globally, with an increase of 37% in the first quarter of 2020. Gartner industry analysts have predicted that spending will increase another 18.4% in 2021, for reach $ 304.9 billion by the end of the year.
Adopting the cloud brings many benefits, including lower costs, improved quality of service, and increased flexibility, which can lead to a transformative new business model and improve an organization’s competitiveness.
Only 3% of Qatar’s private sector have cloud solutions in place, while 76% of companies are aware of its benefits. In order to increase cloud adoption, the following challenges must be addressed:
Data sovereignty regulations
Lack of understanding of data sovereignty regulations can be a barrier to access. Through cooperation between the public and private sectors, these concerns can be alleviated. In Qatar there are clear government regulations that cover the transmission of data outside of Qatar and with global technology leaders establishing data centers in Qatar this should become less of a concern in the years to come.
security
According to Gartner, 66% of IT professionals see security as a major challenge for cloud adoption; However, a move to the cloud has been shown to increase security. For example, Microsoft invests $ 1 billion annually in cybersecurity for its Azure cloud platform, a platform that successfully fights 7 trillion cyber threats per day.
Supplier lock
Vendor foreclosure remains a serious concern for many businesses. However, implementing a multi-cloud solution mitigates this risk by allowing organizations to switch service providers when prices change. To be successful with such a model, however, organizations must develop a cloud architecture that is both portable and interoperable.
Lack of skills
One of the most pressing challenges for cloud adoption is the skills gap. Upgrading the skills and retraining of existing employees is essential and developing a cloud center of excellence within an enterprise is a proven method of moving to a cloud-based model.
Existing investments in data centers
Investments in existing data centers can be a double-edged sword for cloud adoption, as some entities may be reluctant to move to a cloud-based model due to the investment. However, while initial investments are required to move to a cloud solution, over the long term, many entities will experience reduced operating expenses over time.
Firas Sleiman, Partner, Technology at PwC in Qatar, said: “Globally, cloud solutions are advancing the adoption of digital technologies and enabling new revenue streams, rapid time-to-market and numerous benefits. differentiated around data, analysis, the artificial. intelligence, resilience, security and automation.
“Organizations in Qatar have the opportunity to quickly reap the benefits of cloud-based solutions. It is important to recognize the role Qatar plays in the rapidly changing technological landscape.
“With Microsoft and Google investing in the cloud space in the country, and with Qatar positioning as a regional hub for research, innovation, education, health and technology, we expect a accelerating adoption of cloud-based solutions by the public and private sectors. entities in the sector over the next few years, â€he added. – TradeArabia News Service
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