Google teams up with Aramco to bring its cloud business to Saudi Arabia

Google Cloud has teamed up with Saudi Aramco Development Company, a subsidiary of oil giant Aramco, to build and operate cloud data centres in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia now joins the global network of Google Cloud Platform regions, with the JV supplying cloud solutions and services to enterprise customers, with an emphasis on businesses inside Saudi Arabia.

This new cloud region is expected to deliver digital products and services faster and more reliably to customers in Saudi Arabia, while addressing data residence requirements in regulated industries.

“We are committed to helping businesses modernise and accelerate their digital transformations with Google Cloud,” said Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian.

“With this agreement, Google Cloud’s innovative technology and solutions will be available to global customers and enterprises in Saudi Arabia to enable them to better serve end consumers.”

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The collaboration comes amid rapidly expanding cloud services demand in Saudi Arabia, which is forecasted to reach a market opportunity of up to $10bn by 2030. Increased dependence on online services during the Covid-19 pandemic has further accelerated the shift toward digital solutions.

“We live in a world driven by data, and it is essential that companies not only have the secure infrastructure to protect enterprise data, but also the tools that enable them to make the best use of it. Bringing Google Cloud to Saudi Arabia will deliver significant benefits, both now and in the future,” said Aramco senior vice president of Technical Services, Ahmad Al Sa’adi.