Cloud Computing Takes a Bow at GITEX Technology Week with Second Annual Cloud Awards

• Dubai Municipality Scoops Award for Best Government Implementation of Cloud Solution
• Public and Private Entities from Abu Dhabi, Oman and Bahrain Among Winners
• Awards Recognise Region’s Most Innovative Cloud Computing Solutions and Projects

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: GITEX Technology Week -Cloud computing took centre-stage at GITEX Technology Week today, as the region’s most innovative and cutting-edge projects and solutions were recognised at the second annual Cloud Awards - one of the highlights of the Cloud Confex, the region’s largest integrated cloud exhibition and conference.

Designed to recognise outstanding achievement in five distinct categories based on innovation, integration, functionality, value, usability and scalability credentials, the Cloud Awards winners were selected from more than 100 nominations from across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) by an expert panel comprisingTodd Thibodeaux, President and Chief Executive Officer of IT Industry Association COMPTIA, Daniele Catteddu, Managing Director EMEA, Cloud Security Alliance, U.K, and Kuldeep Bhatnagar, IT Advisor, Environment Agency, Government of Abu Dhabi.

Best Government Implementation of Cloud Solution was awarded to Dubai Municipality; Gulf Air was recognised as Best Big Data Solution Project; Best Cloud Security Implementation went to GCAA; Best Data Centre Infrastructure Project wasawarded to Abu Dhabi Police; and the award for Best Virtualisation Solution Implementation went toITA Oman.

Dubai Municipality’s implementation of a cloud computing innovation covering printer services, including printers, scanners, copiers and fax machinesproved a hit with judges. The solution’s roll-out across across all Dubai Municipality brancheshas reduced operational costs by 40 percent - or AED1.5million per year - and encompasses four primary areas: Environmental Friendliness, Productivity Enhancement, Information Security and Cost Reduction.

“We are thrilled that Dubai Municipality’s cloud computing technology has been recognised at the GITEX Cloud Awards,’’ said Loay Al Nakhal, IT Project Manager, Dubai Municipality. “The solution has reduced incoming calls to our corporate Help Desk service, increased security for documents printed by users on shared computers, reduced paper, ink and gas wastage, and aided our recycling scheme - it’s been a tremendous economic and practical success.’’

With IT research firm Frost & Sullivan predicting the global cloud market will reach more than USD 125 billion by the end of the year, the GCC’s cloud computing market is set to grow from USD 91.7 million last year to USD 118.5 million by the end of 2014 - year-on-year growth of 29%.

Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, Exhibitions & Events Management,DWTC, organiser of GITEX Technology Week, commented on the importance and popularity of the Cloud Awards: “As Cloud technology takes on increasing region-wide importance, GITEX Technology Week aims to create the right environment for this game-changing technology to flourish. The Cloud Awards have shown that MEASA’s leading businesses and organisations are demonstrating innovation and project implementation skills that raise the profile of regional Cloud technology adoption.”

As part of the Cloud Confex, the Cloud Awards features WSO2, one of the world’s leading providers of cloud-enabled, service-oriented architecture solutions, as a Diamond Sponsor, withJuniper Networks Middle East and Accenture are Platinum Sponsors.

A diverse range of Cloud Confex sessions explored all aspects of cloud computing agility including technical areas such as network, delivery, storage solutions and support services. Speakers included Ashi Sheth, Manager of Enterprise Platforms, Netflix Inc., who discussed service delivery from a Cloud perspective, Dimithu Leelarathe, Senior Architect, WS02, who focused on IT empowerment, Thameem Rizvon, IT Director, Kamal Osman Jamjoom Group, who examined management strategies related to cloud, and Massimon Cannizzo, Managing Director of IT Strategy, Accenture, who presented on Digital Transformation.

In the afternoon, Dr Jassim Haji, Director Information Technology, Gulf Air, talked about cloud mobility, whileAdrian Pickering, Vice President for Middle East and Africa, Juniper Networks, discussed how networking is being moved to the cloud era, Robin Mersh, Chief Operating Officer, Broadband Forum, examined global standards, and Daniele Catteddu, Managing Director - EMEA, Cloud Security Alliance, gave insight into security issues affecting cloud.

As regional companies large and small move to transfer physical storage, backup, network, security and management systems to the virtual cloud, Frost & Sullivan predict the Gulf’s cloud computing market will post seven-fold growth and expand at a CAGR of 32.8% to reach USD 668.5 million by 2020.

Across the globe, the cloud has exploded in popularity over the past few years, as companies utilise it for backup, storage, network, security and management systems. Key benefits include enhancing their IT costs and scalability, and enabling employees to access technology and data while on the go.

In the UAE, sensitive industry sectors such as the public sector, oil and gas, banking, finance and insurance are all set to drive demand for cloud computing security solutions, according to Frost & Sullivan. Revenue from cloud computing security services in the UAE is set to grow from USD 8.7 million in 2012 to USD 72.3 million by 2019.

For more information on the 34th GITEX Technology Week - running at DWTC from 12-16 October, 2014 - visit: www.gitex.com.