Digital Transformation in the broader scheme of things means evolution. Antoine Harb, Team Leader Middle East and North Africa, Kingston Technology, tells us here that given that data centres are a much-needed part of the process for all the newly created data, it makes sense to call them the steppingstone to the success of the Digital Transformation.
Digital Transformation in the broader scheme of things means evolution. This evolution is driven by an explosion of content and, therefore, data creation and the use of this data.
Over the past decade, data has become something increasingly valuable in all aspects of life, as it holds information that, at a first glance, can look overwhelming and chaotic. However, when structured and put into perspective, patterns form and data starts to equal knowledge and potential competitive advantage.
As with most regions, the Middle East has much to gain from the Digital Transformation. This is something that recently governments across the region have caught on to. According to a Deloitte white paper on Digital Transformation initiatives in the GCC region, it has been estimated that every 20% increase in information and communications technology (ICT) investment results in over 1% growth in a country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Given this obvious value of using and processing data and the rapidly expanding digitalisation, an easily upgradable and scalable system is the base to success.
Not surprisingly, COVID-19 has been a huge accelerator in the push for Digital Transformation worldwide and within Middle Eastern industries such as online education, online healthcare, and online shopping.
Governments throughout the Middle East have been launching incentives to drive Digital Transformation forward, with the ultimate aim of accelerating economic diversification, encouraging sustainability and increasing the satisfaction level among citizens. For example, national platforms, apps and payment methods have been developed by different governments to share information and enhance the accessibility of resources for inhabitants.
Generally, the current digital programmes of Middle Eastern countries are supported by technologies such as robotics, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the cloud, which are all reliant on dependable data centre solutions to support their excessive workloads.
Data centres and Digital Transformation
Given that data centres are a much-needed part of the process for all the newly created data, it makes sense to call them the steppingstone to the success of the Digital Transformation. Today, the outlook on the data centre market is optimistic due to skyrocketing data usage. Unsurprisingly, given the on-going popularity of streaming services as well as virtual collaboration tools and remote working, record demands for data centres in the last two years were noted.
The top data centres, which are the major operators and providers of data centre space globally, saw a strong resurgence in enterprise-level demand, driven by financial, technology and healthcare companies. The increased activity reflects the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic.
As data centres continue to evolve and the requirement for data centre hardware grows, it is key to understand current and future market needs. Choosing the best technology partner will ensure that growth is in the right direction.
Partnering with experts
Digital Transformation is driven by innovation, value and efficiency. Benefits can be seen in many business areas such as customer experience, employee experience and process/production optimisation, in which the implementation of AI and Machine Learning (ML) can save time by taking over monotonous data-driven tasks, increase an employee’s productivity and better the overall customer experience.
When a company is exploring ways of taking their digitalisation to the next level, it has to factor in data centres as a fundamental part of their roadmap. Equally important is finding a suitable solution tailored to their specific needs. Advisory services such as Kingston’s Ask an Expert can actively help businesses to find the right solution by understanding their projects and security goals.
