The Cloud business of Tencent, The Tencent Cloud, announced off late today, a dynamic collaboration alongside the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) regarding the kingdom’s investment promotional agency.
Both the parties as usual had a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with the scope of powering out the Bahrain’s Internet Data Centre (IDC) alongside the progression as well as aid for their swifter emergence as Middle Eastern as well as North African (MENA) territories hub for cloud as well as IDC arena.
As per the Research done via MarketsandMarkets, the Middle East’s cloud market is anticipated to garner $4.5 billion within next three years in 2024, with an accumulated CAGR of 17.5 percent over the similar period, stressing the budding prospect in this territory.
The MoU between Tencent Cloud and the Bahrain EDB will consent for a significant prospect to enhance the native digital economy, permitting native administrations to advance their digital revolution voyage. It will also permit the Tencent Cloud to leverage on Bahrain’s provincial location, and the EDB’s connectivity with local and provincial stakeholders, including Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat.
Bahrain’s Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, Kamal bin Ahmed, stated that: “This is an important milestone in Bahrain’s journey to become the MENA region’s cloud and data centre hub and I commend the EDB for their ceaseless efforts in developing the partnership with Tencent and ensuring that Bahrain is a favored destination for investment. Tencent joins leading global cloud giants in setting up in Bahrain which will drive massive growth in data traffic towards MENA. Moreover, the launch of the new data centre stands to create a clustering effect as other global providers turn their attention to the increasingly attractive region, with Bahrain positioned as the destination of choice with proactive initiatives such as the Government’s ‘Cloud-First’ policy and nationwide 5G.”
The terms of the MoU embrace:
* Tencent Cloud’s initial IDC in Bahrain and MENA: Tencent Cloud will unveil a brand-new IDC in Bahrain, which will go live by the cease of 2021;
* Promoting the positioning of Tencent Cloud: Bahrain EDB, together with public and private stakeholders will reassure the continual adoption of cloud services to progress the digital transformation strategy. Additionally, sustenance will be offered to partner firms to leverage cloud services in alliance with local stakeholders such as Tamkeen.
* Local talent progress: Tencent Cloud will discover and set up training enterprises jointly with the native government in universities and educational institutions across the Kingdom to consent for further knowledge transfer as well as the qualified digital technology talents.
Within a statement, The MoU signing also characters a noteworthy milestone for Tencent Cloud as it positions its first public cloud infrastructure within the MENA territory.
Tencent Cloud International’s Senior Vice President, Poshu Yeung further stated that: “While the local government in Bahrain has been making significant efforts to grow the local IDC industry, Tencent Cloud is excited to collaborate with Bahrain EDB as part of our ongoing efforts to ramp up the global IDC landscape. We will launch all necessary steps to set up a brand-new IDC in Bahrain to provide better coverage all over the Middle East and North African regions along the Belt and Road, fully supporting Bahrain’s ‘Cloud-First’ strategy.”
In 2017, Bahrain announced the county’s initial ever nationwide “Cloud-First” policy to augment government data and communication technologies, pouring the adoption of cloud across state entities and plummeting IT costs by up to 90%.
Operating in 27 territories and 60 convenience zones globally, Tencent Cloud is a secure, dependable and high-performance public cloud service provider that participates Tencent’s infrastructure-construction proficiencies with the rewards of its enormous user platform and ecosystem. By connecting Bahrain’s track record of supple and forward-thinking data guideline, as well as its strategic position within the territory, Tencent Cloud will boost out their rich and wider range of global services to both the public and private sectors in the territory, the statement added.
Khalid Humaidan, Chief Executive, Bahrain Economic Development Board, stated that: “As a global leader in technology, innovation and cloud services, the EDB is very proud to be partnering with Tencent to set up their first MENA data centre hub in Bahrain. We are confident that Tencent will be able to leverage on the Kingdom’s regional connectivity, local talent, and business friendly environment to expand their services and reach clients across the region.”
Raed Fakhri, Managing Director – Investments, Mumtalakat, also stated further that: “Innovative technologies, including cloud services and other content driven services, are an area that Mumtalakat is keen to explore and support as Bahrain progresses with its ‘Cloud First’ policy. As one of the first organisations in the Kingdom to achieve full cloud migration we are excited to witness this milestone that will only further enhance Bahrain’s diversification strategy.”
