MEA November 2017

20 MEA MARKETS / November 2017 , Public Cloud – Part of the Strategy for Middle East Organizations but Not The Strategy Taking time to provide an interesting, in-depth article on Pure Storage is CIO of Pure Storage, Yousuf Khan. For consumers and businesses alike, digital technology has proven disruptive. Consumers can, in theory, embrace or reject the trend as they see fit. But a reluctance to embrace digital technologies can leave organizations falling behind competitors. The good news is that enterprises in the Middle East are already making strides in this area. In a recent survey we conducted, of 300 IT decision makers in the region, 72 percent of respondents stated that their organizations are committed to being information- based companies. In fact, the survey found that digital solutions already contribute almost 50 percent of revenue in these companies. It is often the responsibility of IT leaders to innovate in line with the business’ digital vision, without breaking the bank. In response to this pressure, over the past several years, public cloud has seen increased adoption across a multitude of industries. The demand for simpler storage, combined with an unprecedented explosion of data, has created the perception of an unstoppable drive toward the public cloud. A “cloud-first” strategy is the popular buzzword for executive leadership. But it’s important to understand what that really means. The narrative that cloud and traditional storage are at direct odds, while compelling, is oversimplified. Within today’s landscape, there are more options than just public cloud and traditional on-premise. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) has exploded, while private cloud has also seen significant increase in relevancy. A strategy that deploys some combination of these options is referred to as hybrid cloud. This is a route that most enterprises in the Middle East are opting to go down as evidenced by findings of the survey where 69 percent of businesses say they will increase their public cloud usage in the next 18-24 months. In parallel, private cloud (57 percent) and SaaS (56 percent) usage is also expected to grow in the same timeframe. In my conversations with more than 70 CIOs, VPs of Infrastructure and technology leaders over the past several months, the general consensus is two-fold: • Organizations that aren’t using public cloud in some capacity are likely missing out • Public cloud is part of a strategy – but it’s not the strategy Strategic infrastructure is key to optimizing for the new reality of digital business – and that means building a hybrid cloud. Today, major retail brands – which were previously never considered technology companies – are generating more data than high tech firms did a decade ago. Car companies like Mercedes and Tesla, outfit cars with sometimes hundreds of sensors, which constantly pour critical performance data back into organizational databases. 90 percent of all data ever generated was generated in the last five years. Analysts forecast that by 2025, we will generate 180 zettabytes – or 180 trillion gigabytes – of data annually[1] To gain advantage from that data, maintain a modern pace of innovation and improve operational efficiency, organizations must be highly analytical and strategic about which workloads and applications live where. Analytics and business intelligence are two of the top focus areas for CIOs with 74 percent of respondents to the survey reporting that they see more demand in the business for real-time analytics and interactive simulations than a year ago. To effectively utilize both, modern IT professionals must understand the strengths and limitations of different infrastructure options to create the optimal hybrid environment for their organizational needs.