EDITOR’S QUESTION
WHAT MORE CAN BE
DONE TO ENTICE BOTH
THE PRIVATE SECTOR
AND PUBLIC SECTOR
CIOs TO ENGAGE A
MORE COMPREHENSIVE
CLOUD MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM?
43.7%
UAE’s cloud market in particular
is primed for annual compound
growth until 2016
(Source: IDC)
A
lthough cloud computing is
arguably one of the most exciting
things that’s happened in the IT
space for decades, it is also the catalyst
for many a CIO identity crisis. The simple
fact is this: the emergence of cloud has
fundamentally changed the role of the
CIO; obsoleting job descriptions, altering
organisational structures and changing the
benchmarks of success.
Coupled with a distinct reluctance on the
part of many MENA organisations to signoff on the cross-over to cloud, CIOs are
invariably left in a position of not having
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INTELLIGENTCIO
the requisite authority to fully embrace
cloud, whether it is a cost-effective option
or not. It’s a given that private sector
CIOs in the Middle East have inched closer
to cloud, but the public sector still lags
behind.
According to a recent report by McKinsey
& Company, CEOs and line-of-business
departments believe their IT shops
are too preoccupied with projects that
“keep the lights on” instead of focusing
on “quick” and “simple” technology
initiatives to innovate and grow the
business.
IT research and advisory company Gartner
predicts the Middle East and North Africa
(MENA) region is projected to experience
one of the highest global growth rates for
public cloud services, increasing from 2012
to 2013 by 24.5% to $462.3 million.
The UAE’s cloud market in particular is
primed for annual compound growth of
43.7% until 2016, according to a recent
report from technology-focused market
intelligence firm IDC.
Cloud computing has been especially
boosted by the rapidly-growing trend of
employees bringing their own personal
mobile devices to work. Gartner Inc.
predicts that nearly 40% of enterprises will
stop providing devices to their employees
by 2016, according to a recent survey.
www.intelligentcio.com