Page 12 - Red Hat PR REPORT - SEPTEMBER 2025

Article

Inside UAE’s shift to hybrid cloud infrastructure

By Adrian Pickering, Regional General Manager, MENA, Red Hat

Over the past few years, hybrid cloud has evolved from a buzzword into a strategic
cornerstone for organizations across the Middle East. Nowhere is this transformation more
apparent than in the UAE. From federal ministries to �intech startups, organizations across
the UAE are rapidly reimagining their infrastructure models. They are moving away from
legacy systems and siloed data centers in favor of more agile, scalable, and secure hybrid
solutions that offer the best of both public and private cloud worlds.

Today, hybrid cloud isn’t just gaining momentum - it’s becoming foundational. Enterprises
are increasingly turning to multi-cloud models to modernize IT systems while retaining
control over their data and operations.

Region Transformed by Cloud Choice

The cloud ecosystem in the Middle East, particularly in the UAE, has shifted dramatically in
the last 12 to 18 months. Global hyperscalers like AWS, Microsoft, and Alibaba have entered
the market and expanded their regional availability, creating a competitive landscape with
greater service diversity and localized capabilities. Alongside them, sovereign cloud
providers such as G42 in Abu Dhabi and Moro Hub in Dubai have emerged with offerings
tailored speci�ically for the country’s regulatory and operational needs.

This transformation is further catalyzed by the strategic national visions set out by countries
in the region, including the Saudi Vision 2030 and the UAE Centennial 2071. These ambitious
plans outline speci�ic goals for technological advancement and digital transformation,
driving investment and innovation in cloud infrastructure. By 2028, the global cloud market
is poised to reach a value of USD 1.266 trillion, a signi�icant increase compared to USD 626.46

billion in 2023.

Organizations in the Middle East are increasingly �inding innovative ways to harness cloud
technology to support their growth and digital strategies. Research has shown that around
90 per cent of companies in the region have moved beyond the ‘lift and shift’ strategy – where
existing applications are simply transferred to the cloud – and are now focusing on
modernizing their applications and creating new cloud-native solutions.