Huawei Cloud commits to accelerate realisation of Saudi Vision 2030

At the Huawei Cloud Summit Saudi Arabia 2024 in Riyadh, Huawei Cloud showcased its latest advancements in AI technologies while offering sustainable computing power and broadening its global innovation ecosystem under the theme of “Leap to Intelligence with a Better Cloud”.

During the summit, a media roundtable was held with Jacqueline Shi – president of Huawei Cloud Global Marketing and Sales Service, Lawrence Liu – CEO of Huawei Cloud Saudi Arabia, and Roy Luo – vice president of Cloud Consulting Solution Sales Dept at Huawei Cloud Middle East and Central Asia, sharing Huawei’s Cloud vision to leap to intelligence in Saudi Arabia and also across the regions.

Q. How do you view Saudi’s digital transformation and cloud industry in recent years?

Jacqueline Shi: Saudi Arabia is committed to change, embracing new technologies and a digital future with solid execution capabilities. As a global digital leader, the country has released numerous policies showcasing its digital transformation, such as Vision 2030, Cloud-First Strategy, National Strategy for Data & AI, Cloud Adoption Acceleration Program, and many more.

“Saudi speed” has captured global attention, reflecting a clear and firm policy direction. For over 20 years, Huawei has been deeply involved in Saudi Arabia’s development, valuing the opportunity to grow together and give back to the local community. Saudi Arabia remains a key strategic market for Huawei.

Q. What are the differentiated values from Huawei Cloud that it has brought to Saudi Arabia?

Jacqueline Shi: AI is no doubt the hottest topic, which is accelerating digital transformation across all industries and has also reshaped our cloud services. First, in ‘AI for industry’, we offer comprehensive AI solutions such as Pangu Models, ModelArts – AI development pipeline and Ascend AI cloud services. We aim to help industries tackle complex problems and challenges. We also deployed the first commercial Arabic large language model in the Saudi market.

Second, for ‘AI for Cloud’, Huawei Cloud continues to innovate in infrastructure, AI-native storage, GaussDB, MRS, CodeArts, digital human, and more to offer a better cloud foundation for the AI era in Saudi Arabia.

As data is now the new oil in the digital era, Huawei Cloud’s release of GaussDB, the next-generation distributed cloud database, and data-AI convergence is the right solution to help customers overcome the challenges of data processing.

Q. How would you describe Huawei Cloud’s strategy in the GCC and in addition to the Huawei Riyadh Region?

Roy Luo: Supported by the government, carriers, and data centre partners, we expanded the Saudi Arabia region from a single AZ (availability zone) to three AZs in record time. During this period, we achieved CST’s Class C certification and became the first hyper scaler to establish three availability zones with Huawei Cloud Riyadh Region.

The Riyadh Region offers 25ms ultra-low latency for Saudi Arabian customers and provides a high-bandwidth, reliable, low-latency cloud direct connection. Additionally, with latency under 100 ms, it serves surrounding regions such as the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and Europe. Huawei is the preferred partner for Chinese enterprises entering Saudi Arabia, actively delivering innovative and differentiated solutions to local customers. 

Q. From your perspective, how does the increase in AI solutions impact cloud services?

Jacqueline Shi: Huawei Cloud is committed to building AI-ready cloud infrastructures through systematic innovation to accelerate intelligent industry upgrades. Based on ‘AI for Industries’, we have continuously implemented our Pangu large model and AI solutions in government, mining, automotive, meteorology, digital human, and R&D, solving industry problems and reshaping industries.

Under ‘AI for Cloud’, we continuously innovate in infrastructure, AI-native storage, a distributed database (GaussDB), a digital content production pipeline, and a software development pipeline (CodeArts), to create the ideal cloud foundation for the AI era. AI brings strategic advantages to countries and industries; therefore, we advocate for a sovereign AI in every country and industry, transforming from ‘application + AI’ to ‘AI + application’.

Q. How is Huawei Cloud fostering local talent and building a skilled workforce to support the growing demand for cloud services in the region?

Lawrence Liu: This year marks 22 years of Huawei’s presence in Saudi Arabia, where we have consistently adhered to the principle of ‘in Saudi Arabia, for Saudi Arabia’. We aim to collaborate with the country to nurture digital talent and strengthen the local ecosystem, with plans to train over 3,000 ICT undergraduates this year.

We place a high priority on developing cloud and AI talents. Since last year, we have enabled more than 3,000 college students to obtain industry certifications related to Huawei Cloud. Similarly, Huawei Cloud has developed over 100 local partners, accelerating their success and fostering top partnerships in Saudi Arabia.

Q. As competition in the cloud industry intensifies, what investments is Huawei making in local infrastructure to support the growing demand for cloud services in the Middle East?

 Roy Luo: The revenue of public cloud services grew by 300 per cent in the Middle East, and the revenue of public cloud services increased tenfold in Saudi Arabia. So far, Huawei Cloud has served over 300 customers with more than 200 solutions and sales partners in Saudi Arabia.

As a company driven by technological innovation, Huawei is committed to being the foundation and enabler of enterprise transformation, delivering cutting-edge industry technologies and products—from AI-ready cloud infrastructure to global innovation ecosystems—creating more excellent competitive value for local customers.

Read: Huawei Technologies opens cloud data centre in Riyadh