The ongoing transformation and modernization efforts undertaken by Saudi Arabia solidify its position as a market leader in cloud computing, driven by the rise in annual spending on public cloud services, which is set to reach $2.5 billion by 2026, a CAGR of 25%.
Demand for cloud services remains high on the enterprise agenda in Saudi Arabia amid the country’s larger digital transformation push. Rising cloud adoption is accelerating public cloud spending nationwide as a result of the increasing business need to harness the application of cloud solutions to thrive and achieve sustainable growth.
Global firms like Sword Group are leading the way by providing state-of-the-art digital transformation solutions, supporting companies to migrate their database systems to public cloud servers to receive maximum benefits. A major player in the digital transformation market, Sword is expanding its Saudi operations from its UK headquarters and it boasts a workforce of over 3,000 digital and technology specialists working across 50 countries.
On the occasion of Saudi National Day in September, we sat down with Rob Mossop, COO and General Manager of Sword Saudi Arabia, to learn more about the company’s expansion journey.
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Grabbing the Cloud Migration Opportunity Across Industries in Saudi Arabia
As cloud-managed services are an indispensable part of digital transformation, their demand will further intensify. The government’s efforts to transform Saudi Arabia into a global technology and cloud innovation hub have resulted in strategic initiatives, such as the Saudi Cloud Strategy, that built the frameworks for this expansion.
Additionally, the country has recently launched the Cloud Computing Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which is situated in the Innovation Tower at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in Riyadh. It aims to provide access to the latest technologies, and world-class cloud infrastructure, and nurture the development of a pool of skilled talent for companies offering cloud computing services.
These factors have made the Kingdom an ideal destination for the likes of Sword to expand operations. “We help companies take on the challenge of migrating to public cloud infrastructures and understanding what the benefits are—how to safely and securely, and in a compliant way, take on that [cloud] capability and use it to turbocharge the growth of their organizations,” said Mossop, highlighting the large market opportunity that cuts across wide industry verticals in Saudi Arabia.
The company’s strength lies in its versatile scope and breadth of services. Sword provides companies with tailored solutions for three primary sectors: Energy (including renewables), public, and finance sectors, offering strategic design and implementation services for digital platform transformation, cyber resilience, and business solution deployment, through both project delivery and agile resource augmentation.
Mossop noted that the growth of Saudi cloud computing services is underpinned by large investments made by hyper scalers in Saudi Arabia like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, all of which contribute to increasing the capability of data centers in the Saudi market.
In tandem with these advancements, Sword remains an anchor in the country’s march towards unlocking cloud-driven innovation, which is rapidly reshaping the way businesses operate, enabling them to adapt, innovate, and succeed in an increasingly digital world.
Saudi Giga Projects Anchor Sword’s Growth Ambitions
Sword cemented its market leadership position in Saudi Arabia by engaging directly with large-scale projects like the $500 billion giga project NEOM, assisting a number of energy and water organizations with various projects related to information management, data science, and analytics.
Mossop highlighted that a giga project like NEOM provides a conducive environment for Sword’s technology and business practices, allowing the company to fulfill its commitment to meet industry standards and customer expectations.
“We’ve been doing lots of exciting things in NEOM, and that’s in an environment where they have already embraced some of the digital capabilities that we’re used to helping customers exploit,” he added.
The company’s Saudi expansion journey was facilitated by AstroLabs’ on-ground team, who played an instrumental part in enabling Sword to become well-prepared with the knowledge needed to navigate the market entry as well as the intricacies of post-setup requirements.
This view was corroborated by Mossop, who said: “The reality is we wouldn’t be here doing this today if it wasn’t for the support we’ve had from AstroLabs. It is particularly true when it comes to the knowledge you’ve got about the processes involved and all of the minutiae details of how to get the setup just right.”
As the Kingdom forges ahead to become a digital-oriented economy, businesses are likely to pivot investments toward a cloud-led business model across various product categories amid the rising Saudi digitization. This transformation is supported by the strong depth and breadth of technology and expertise of Sword.
“We felt it was time that we commit properly to the region and build more opportunity for ourselves and help that huge demand that we see for the uptake of more modern, cloud-based services and digital capability,” Mossop concluded.