Zain Group, the leading mobile telecom innovator in eight markets across the Middle East and Africa, has been selected by Huawei, a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, to become a strategic partner in the offering of Huawei Cloud services in Kuwait and across the Middle East and North Africa region (Mena).

 

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two companies was signed during a two-day strategy summit held in Shanghai, China where Zain Group executive management met counterparts from Huawei to discuss a range of topics related to establishing additional areas of potential cooperation. 

 

The public cloud agreement is in line with the New Kuwait Vision 2035 and the strategic relationship established between Kuwait and China to drive improvements in the areas of Public Administration, Economy, Infrastructure, Living Environment, Healthcare, Human Capital, and Global Position.    

 

The agreement will see Huawei Cloud services initially launched in Kuwait and across Middle East, with a wide range of new offerings being made available to businesses and consumers alike.  The market in Mena is estimated to be growing by more than 20 per cent year-on-year according to industry analyst Gartner, with platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) being among the fastest growing areas with public cloud service delivery.  

 

Zain Group vice-chairman and CEO Bader Al-Kharafi said: “This agreement bolsters Zain's efforts in playing a key role in the ‘New Kuwait 2035’ national development plan as the deployment of public cloud services unlocks many opportunities for driving business growth and efficiency, as well as stimulating competition and innovation. It also enhances our ambitions of becoming the operator of choice for governments and enterprises of all sizes across our footprint.” 

 

Al Kharafi continued: “In the implementation of our digital transformation strategy, Zain has consistently looked to bring cutting-edge solutions to the region for the benefit of its customers. In recent years we have intensified our focus on the delivery of business-to-business (B2B) solutions, and this agreement adds to the comprehensive range of business-critical offerings we’ll be able to deliver.”

 

“Public cloud is the cornerstone of digital transformation, I look forward to promoting Huawei Cloud across the Mena with Zain”, said Charles Yang, president of Huawei Middle East, “As a global leading ICT player, Huawei will continuously focus on digital transformation, supporting our strategic decision to foster the growth of public cloud services. Zain is one of our most important partners in the region and this partnership will support the realization of Kuwait 2035 vision and other Mena nations’ plans alike, bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected and intelligent Mena.”

 

Zain and Huawei discussed other topics during their summit in Shanghai, including each company’s respective technology roadmap given the introduction of 5G in the Mena region as early as next year. The companies assessed the expected business cases for 5G in the region, including its impact on IoT, mobility, connectivity, healthcare, government; and other essential sectors. Zain is on track to have its operations in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia be the first to launch 5G commercially.  – TradeArabia News Service