Dubai, October 8th, 2011 - Huawei , a leading global information and communication technology (ICT) solutions provider, is driving the uptake of cloud computing in the Middle East as enterprises across the region demand a smarter way of doing business. Many businesses recognize that cloud computing can save them time and money, but while many have already invested in some basic cloud technologies, cloud has yet to achieve its full potential in transforming businesses from top to bottom. Huawei is conducting live demonstrations at GITEX to show visitors how organizations of all sizes and from all sectors can benefit from cloud computing.

Regional economic competitiveness and a broad commitment to business innovation mean that uptake of cloud computing is growing rapidly in the Middle East as well as shaping technology investment decisions globally. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the public cloud segment is set to flourish with cloud servers expected to grow from an $8.4bn market opportunity in 2010 to $12.6bn by 2014. Huawei believes the Middle East region will claim a large part of this global market growth.

"Cloud is here to stay; it really is a game-changer; and it really is transforming the world of traditional IT", asserts Ronald Raffensperger, Director, Cloud Computing Marketing, Huawei . "We have seen intense interest in cloud-based solutions among the region's leading companies as well as a rapid increase in multinationals adopting cloud-based applications. Allowing smaller businesses to access IT resources at a fraction of the cost and compete on a bigger scale, cloud is spurring economic growth in the region. We now see cloud moving up the decision-making chain; from IT managers up to the C-level decision-makers who recognize that IT investments must be integrated with the rest of the business to achieve their full transformative potential".

Offering cloud computing-based data center and application services (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and the media cloud), Huawei will showcase its cloud solutions at GITEX as part of its theme: Driving ICT Transformation Visitors will have the opportunity to see the benefits of cloud first-hand via Huawei's Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and will also see applications of cloud in different scenarios and vertical sectors.

Huawei recorded regional contract sales in 2010 of USD2.7 billion, an increase of 18.1 per cent compared with 2009. While consolidating its leading position within the telecom market, Huawei is also growing rapidly in the enterprise market; specifically in the government, banking and finance, oil and gas, transportation and power utilities sectors. The government, education and healthcare sectors in the Middle East, as well as many multinationals, have been aggressive in their planning for cloud computing. The private cloud has been of particular interest to these sectors because of concerns relating to the need for more enhanced information security and a more efficient use of IT infrastructure resources. Huawei is well-placed to address these concerns and enable businesses to enjoy the increased growth and productivity the cloud can bring.

Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources; that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

Visitors to Huawei's stand located in the Gulfcomms section,Zabeel Hall at Z-F25 can experience Huawei's complete cloud offering.

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