With the new year coming, Amazon Web Services is looking forward to expanding its foothold in Middle-East cloud market, establishing its presence in Saudi Arabia, as reported by Reuters.
AWS was reportedly in discussion with the government of Saudi Arabia to procure a license, so that they can operate their cloud computing services there.
Although AWS services are available in the country through third-party vendors, it is yet to have a direct presence.
The Middle-East country is largely internet-connected with 70% of the population comprising youth, and is experiencing a thrive in startups and businesses. AWS finds it a big opportunity to serve them with its world-class cloud computing.
“Many tech multinationals now in Saudi Arabia are either vendors to the Saudi government or, in the case of Uber, have benefited from a sizable Saudi investment,” said Sam Blatteis, who heads Dubai-based tech advisory MENA Catalysts Inc. “Amazon entering the Saudi market would be a step-change.”
Amazon had announced its datacenter in Bahrain earlier this year, and became the first American cloud provider to have any cloud-region in Middle-East. Also, it had acquired Dubai-based e-commerce platform Souq.com to sell Amazon retail goods in the country.
If sources are to be believed, Apple too was found in talks with the foreign investment authority of Saudi Arabia- SAGIA.
Also read: AT&T unveils AWS-supported IoT solutions for enterprises
The company might establish its retail store (Apple Store) in the country earlier in 2019. On the other hand, Amazon is still at the initial stage of conversation, and no timeframe has been set for investment, as of now.
