Amazon is investing more than $5 billion in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by 2026 to help organizations innovate faster. It’s easy to develop new ideas, but implementing them is where creativity comes into play. Amazon Web Services (AWS) also aims to improve data residency preferences by running workloads locally.
What will this mean for business opportunities? This investment includes plans for two innovation centers, including digital skills training for local talent. This initiative will give developers, startups, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations greater choices.
Amazon says they have more options for running their applications and serving end users. Running this from data centers located in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will ensure customers can keep their content in-country if they wish to.
Two key promises from AWS
With this investment, customers can run workloads and “securely store customers’ content in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia” while serving the end user with even lower latency.
This initiative also emphasizes AWS’s long-term commitment to meet “high demand for cloud services” in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East.
But let’s take it one step back: What is latency, and why is it essential for your business?
What is network latency?
Network latency is the delay in network communication. AWS says it shows the time it takes data to transfer across the network. High latency means a network has a longer delay. A fast response time has low latency.
Businesses prefer a high latency and faster network communication, as it provides greater productivity and more efficiency in business operations.
Why is latency important for my business?
More companies are embracing digital transformation, using cloud-based applications and services to perform basic business functions. According to AWS, operations also rely on data collected from smart devices connected to the internet, collectively called the Internet of Things (IoT).
“High latency also reduces the benefits of spending more on network capacity, affecting user experience and customer satisfaction. This is even if businesses implement expensive network circuits,” explains AWS. “This cloud Region demonstrates a firm commitment to research, innovation, and empowering entrepreneurs to achieve prosperity for our region and the world.”
New era of technology
Abdullah Alswaha, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s technology minister, says the $5.3 billion investment and partnership with AWS “ignites a new era of technological excellence and innovation for the Kingdom.
AWS’ vice president of infrastructure, Prasad Kalyanaraman, says this investment will help serve the “fast-growing demand for cloud services across the Middle East. He says this will help “unlock the full potential of the cloud.” It will also help AWS grow computing, storage, analytics, and artificial intelligence technologies.
Excited about the opportunities that will sprout from this business partnership, Kalyanaraman says: “We look forward to helping Saudi Arabian institutions, startups, and enterprises deliver cloud-powered applications to accelerate growth, productivity, and innovation and spur job creation, skills training, and educational opportunities.”
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