Google, Saudi Aramco, and New Opportunities

Google continues to expand its services and products around the world. The tech giant will open a “cloud region” to provide its cloud services in Saudi Arabia via a joint venture with state-owned oil producer Saudi Aramco.

According to the agreement, Google will deliver high performance, low-latency cloud services to enterprise customers in Saudi Arabia. As a reminder, the tech giant began negotiations with Saudi Arabia on the project in 2018. However, talks reportedly stalled following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by state agents the same year.

Nevertheless, Google Cloud is now moving ahead with plans to establish and operate a new cloud region in the country. It is worth mentioning that, the technology also shows companies from Silicon Valley are willing to work with Saudi Arabia. This is despite various issues such as human rights violations, etc.

Google and its rivals

Based on the information by the tech giant, its investment in Saudi Arabia will allow businesses to grow and scale their offerings in the kingdom. Moreover, the deal also boosts its cloud computing business. As a reminder, this business brings in more than $10 billion in annual revenue for its parent, Alphabet Inc.

Interestingly, Google competes with other tech giants such as Microsoft and Amazon in the growing cloud-computing market around the world. At the moment, Google operates in 24 regions with 73 availability zones. This is less than its primary competitors Microsoft Azure as well as market leader Amazon Web Services.

It worth mentioning that, Amazon Services launched its first cloud region in the Middle East in Bahrain in 2019. It serves major local clients such as Emirati bank Emirates NBD and rideshare service Careem. Moreover, another U.S. tech giant, Microsoft launched its offering in the United Arab Emirates around the same time. As a result, Google was the last major tech company to enter the region.

Saudia Arabia is trying to become less dependent on fossil fuels. The country is seeking foreign investment to bolster its ambitious Vision 20303 reform plans.

People should take into account that, Saudi Arabia already invests a lot of money in American technology firms via its Public Investment Fund.

Importantly, the new infrastructure will accelerate Saudi Arabia’s tech industry, which has one of the fastest-growing cloud adoption rates in the region. As can be seen from the information stated above, the country is actively investing in various projects to adapt to the new reality.