MENA cloud shift prompts transition and data storage challenges

According to leading IT market intelligence firm IDC, the UAE cloud market alone is set for a 43.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) up until 2016.

IDC believes that emerging markets, which includes MENA, will witness the fastest growth in cloud spending anywhere in the world, collectively growing 44.1% up until 2016. Developed markets are set for a CAGR of 22.7% during this period.

The share of cloud spending by emerging markets will soar from 13% in 2011 to 24.9% in 2016, accounting for almost 30% of net-new public IT cloud services spending growth.

Such acceleration has highlighted the need for greater planning to support the transition to cloud technologies, as well as the importance of running a world-class storage strategy.

"There is a growing maturity among both vendors and organizations in terms of the discussion they have been having around cloud. A lot more organizations are clear about the concept, but are still struggling to deal with some of the challenges - especially around security and connectivity in a public cloud environment. Even in private cloud, organizations are concerned about security, backup, and storage implications," said Sony John, Research Manager, IT Services, IDC MEA.

Savitha Bhaskar, General Manager at leading data storage experts Condo Protego, is among those leading the call for greater awareness moving forward.

"With its ability to drastically cut hardware expenditure and boost business flexibility, the wholehearted embrace of cloud is extremely enticing," she said.

"The journey to adopt private, public or even hybrid solutions is not without its pitfalls, however. Indeed, some software providers will struggle to manage the process alone. Whether it is a question of vendor choice, application configuration or the challenge of integrating and adapting with existing infrastructures, it will be tricky to move ahead without strong consultative guidance," she added.

"A carefully structured roadmap is even more important when it comes to data storage, business continuity and disaster recovery," added Bhaskar.

"Without a proper, clearly defined strategy in place businesses could find themselves exposed to huge risks, from day-to-day operations to overall reputation," Bhaskar concluded.

The evolution of MENA's cloud landscape will take centre stage next month in Dubai at IDC's Cloud Computing and Datacenter Roadshow 2013.

Condo Protego is a specialist value added reseller (VAR) dealing entirely with data protection and availability storage, with a strong focus on Symantec and EMC products. Depending on the project specification, Condo Protego can also call on input from vendors such as Dell, Websense, Riverbed, RSA, VMWare, CISCO, Brocade and Emulex.