By Adrian Pickering, Regional General Manager, MENA, Red Hat
Over the past few years, hybrid cloud has evolved from a buzzword into a strategic cornerstone for organizations across the Middle East. Nowhere is this transformation more apparent than in the UAE. From federal ministries to fintech startups, organizations across the UAE are rapidly reimagining their infrastructure models. They are moving away from legacy systems and siloed data centers in favor of more agile, scalable, and secure hybrid solutions that offer the best of both public and private cloud worlds.
Today, hybrid cloud isn’t just gaining momentum – it’s becoming foundational. Enterprises are increasingly turning to multi-cloud models to modernize IT systems while retaining control over their data and operations.
Region Transformed by Cloud Choice
The cloud ecosystem in the Middle East, particularly in the UAE, has shifted dramatically in the last 12 to 18 months. Global hyperscalers like AWS, Microsoft, and Alibaba have entered the market and expanded their regional availability, creating a competitive landscape with greater service diversity and localized capabilities. Alongside them, sovereign cloud providers such as G42 in Abu Dhabi and Moro Hub in Dubai have emerged with offerings tailored specifically for the country’s regulatory and operational needs.
This transformation is further catalyzed by the strategic national visions set out by countries in the region, including the Saudi Vision 2030 and the UAE Centennial 2071. These ambitious plans outline specific goals for technological advancement and digital transformation, driving investment and innovation in cloud infrastructure. By 2028, the global cloud market is poised to reach a value of USD 1.266 trillion, a significant increase compared to USD 626.46 billion in 2023.
Organizations in the Middle East are increasingly finding innovative ways to harness cloud technology to support their growth and digital strategies. Research has shown that around 90 per cent of companies in the region have moved beyond the ‘lift and shift’ strategy – where existing applications are simply transferred to the cloud – and are now focusing on modernizing their applications and creating new cloud-native solutions.
For Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and IT leaders, this marks a turning point. For the first time, they have a genuine choice – the ability to align infrastructure decisions not just with technical requirements, but also with strategic priorities like data sovereignty, compliance, commercial offers, and service needs. Hybrid cloud, once viewed as a hypothetical, future-state aspiration, has become a practical and increasingly popular model.
Key Drivers of This Shift
One of the major drivers of hybrid cloud adoption in the region is cost efficiency. The economics of traditional data centers are becoming less viable. Between hardware investment, cooling, staffing, and security, the costs are stacking up, especially as businesses scale. The second factor is speed to market. In a post-COVID world, speed to market is no longer a competitive advantage but a necessity. Organizations need to launch, iterate, and scale digital services without the bottlenecks of traditional IT infrastructure.
Security and compliance are also among the factors shaping cloud strategies. Industries handling sensitive or classified data must operate within strict guidelines. Public cloud adoption for these sectors is not always straightforward, which is where sovereign clouds play a critical role. Lastly, flexibility is another important factor. Enterprises aim to avoid being ‘locked in’ to a single vendor or architecture. They are looking for architectures that support freedom of movement, shifting workloads across platforms based on changing business needs.
The Hybrid Advantage
The hybrid cloud delivers a unique value proposition by balancing performance, cost, compliance, and agility. Unlike pure public or private models, a hybrid cloud gives organizations the freedom to optimize infrastructure without being constrained by a one-size-fits-all approach. It also allows businesses to reduce their dependency on any single provider. This model supports long-term resilience and strategic autonomy, enabling smarter decisions as demands shift.
An open hybrid cloud approach takes this one step further, allowing for seamless movement of applications and data across environments. This is not just about convenience; it’s about building a resilient foundation that can adapt to the future.
Rise of Sovereign Cloud and Open Innovation
Over the next 12 to 24 months, we can expect both enterprise and public sector adoption of hybrid cloud to accelerate. Sovereign platforms will be a key enabler in this growth. There is already a strong interest from ministries and municipalities in the UAE, aiming to reap the benefits of the cloud without compromising on national data sovereignty.
At the same time, innovation in cloud-native technologies continues to gain ground. Containerization and cross-platform automation are enabling organizations to operate at scale with greater efficiency.
Looking Ahead
Hybrid cloud is not a destination but a dynamic, flexible model that adapts with the business. The Middle East, and particularly the UAE, is a fertile ground for this transformation. With a confluence of infrastructure investment, regulatory clarity, and a growing appetite for open innovation, organizations in the region have a strong foundation to adopt hybrid strategies with confidence.
The open hybrid cloud model offers the flexibility, security, and strategic control that modern enterprises need, not only to thrive today but to remain resilient tomorrow. As organizations seek ways to stay agile while maintaining control, this model stands out as the most balanced and future-proof approach.