Cloud computing a viable reality in the GCC

The cloud is now fast enough and powerful enough to handle day-to-day computing

Cloud computing may look like a trend, but IT experts at Gitex say understanding the cloud and knowing how to secure it are going to be critical to technology for years to come. “It’s a trend that’s more than a trend,” says Dan Harden, president of Silicon Valley-based Whipsaw, an industrial design and engineering company.

Cloud computing, which allows remote data storage and access to information from multiple locations, is a combination of technologies that allow individuals and companies to do everything from word processing to number crunching from anywhere a user can connect to the internet. Over the last few years the combination of faster computers, better software and broadband penetration has finally made it a viable reality, Harden said. “The cloud is now fast enough and powerful enough to handle day-to-day computing.”

The GCC’s telecommunications infrastructure has also improved to the point cloud computing in the region is now possible, said Nidal Abou Ltaif, vice-president of emerging markets for Avaya. The biggest challenge for cloud computing is the willingness of large enterprises to accept it.

Security for data “on the cloud” is still a big concern for big companies, he said.Sharif Hamed, CEO and founder of UAE-based Zero Technologies, which produces computer systems technology that works on the cloud, says it will still be important for companies to keep their data in a central location.

Justin Doo, security practice director for Symantec MENA, said “the need for security in the cloud computing era has not changed.”