Middle East and Africa Cloud Strategies

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Meet the Experts

Photo of Jebin George
Jebin George

Senior Research Manager, Software, Cloud, and Industry Transformation, IDC MEA



IDC's Middle East and Africa Cloud Strategies CIS is a focal point for all cloud-related research for the region. This annual subscription service features a series of reports covering the cloud market in its entirety — public, private, and hybrid cloud, as well as infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS). These reports offer diverse stakeholder perspectives, such as end-user adoption trends, technology provider investments, partner ecosystems, and regulatory measures. The research also provides insight into regional cloud market size, end-user focus areas, challenges, vendor market shares, and competitive profiles. Furthermore, it highlights specific topics, including digital sovereignty, application modernization, key workloads, CloudOps, FinOps, cloud data management, and security.


Markets and Subjects Analyzed


  • Geographic coverage: Middle East and Africa, with a focus on key countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Qatar, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, other Gulf Cooperation Council countries (OGCC — Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman), and Morocco
  • Key industries: Public sector (government, education, healthcare), finance, telecom, oil and gas, manufacturing, retail, and transport
  • Market opportunities: Public cloud market sizing and forecasting, CIO preferences, and key adoption trends
  • Competition and partnerships: Public cloud market share and key vendors, partner ecosystem evolution, investments from tech players, and emerging vendor profiles
  • Key areas: Application modernization and migration, key workloads, CloudOps, FinOps, data management, sovereign cloud, industry cloud, cloud skills, and cloud professional services
  • Thought leadership: GenAI and its impact on cloud, future of digital infrastructure, national initiatives, cloud policies, and data regulations

Core Research


  • Saudi Arabia Public Cloud Market Forecast, 2023–2028
  • United Arab Emirates Public Cloud Services Market Shares, 2023
  • South Africa Public Cloud Market Forecast, 2023-2028
  • How Cloud Is Enabling the AI Everywhere Era: A Middle East and Africa Perspective, 2024
  • Sovereign Cloud in the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa: A Market Snapshot, 2024
  • Cloud Economics: FinOps Trends in the Middle East and Africa, 2024
  • IDC PlanScape: Data Governance for Generative AI
  • Cloud Operations and Governance: Key Trends in the Middle East and Africa, 2024
  • Application Modernization Trends in the Middle East and Africa, 2024
  • Cloud-Native Application Development Trends in the Middle East and Africa, 2024
  • Qatar Public Cloud Trends, 2024
  • Kenya: The New Public Cloud Frontier in Africa
  • Industry Cloud Adoption Trends and User Perceptions in the Middle East and Africa, 2024

In addition to the insight provided in this service, IDC may conduct research on specific topics or emerging market segments via research offerings that require additional IDC funding and client investment.


Key Questions Answered


  1. What are the key trends in the region- and country-specific IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS markets in the Middle East and Africa?
  2. What are the region- and country-specific market opportunities in public cloud over the next five years?
  3. What do the region- and country-specific competitive landscapes in the IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS markets look like?
  4. Who are the key players, and what are their market shares, investment plans, and growth strategies?
  5. How are the regional partnership ecosystems in public cloud evolving?
  6. What are end users' cloud adoption strategies?
  7. Which are the most prominent industries?
  8. How is industry cloud evolving?
  9. What are the various approaches to application modernization, cloud deployment models, hybrid multicloud, industry clouds, key cloud workloads, CloudOps, cloud data management, and cloud security?
  10. How is digital sovereignty evolving in the region?
  11. What national initiatives and digital regulations are affecting cloud adoption and investments in specific countries?

Companies Covered