Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market Research Report: Forecast (2023-2028)

Market Definition

Cloud storage is a technology that allows individuals and organizations to store and manage their digital data, such as documents, photos, videos, and more, on remote servers or data centers hosted by third-party providers. This data is stored and accessed over the internet rather than on local physical storage devices like hard drives or servers.

Market Insights & Analysis: The Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market (2023-28):

The Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of around 18% during the forecast period, i.e., 2023-28. The Middle East and North Africa nations are undergoing rapid digital transformation, with businesses shifting to online operations, e-commerce, and digital services. This generates vast amounts of data that require storage and management in secure and accessible cloud environments.

Additionally, the adoption of remote work and the need for seamless collaboration among geographically dispersed teams have increased data storage and sharing demands. Simultaneously, the economies of the Middle East and African nations are focusing on boosting investments and expansion of their service-based industries to boost their GDP growth, the region is witnessing a rise in investments in BFSI, and ICT industry, etc.

Moreover, the region's growing emphasis on data privacy and compliance is pushing organizations to choose reputable cloud storage service providers offering robust security measures and regulatory compliance features. This is because cloud storage is increasingly perceived as a cost-effective alternative to on-premises data centers, enabling companies to reduce capital expenditures and operational costs while benefiting from pay-as-you-go pricing models. Thus, these factors are anticipated to contribute enormously in the revenue growth of The Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market during 2023-2028.

The Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market Driver:

Increasing Need to Provide Remote Workforce with Ubiquitous Access to Business Data Fuelling the Market Growth – The growth of the Cloud Storage Market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been primarily driven by the increasing need to provide remote workforces with omnipresent access to business data. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote work across the MENA, to ensure business continuity while safeguarding employee health.

As employees working from different locations surged, the requirement for seamless access to data and collaborative tools also increased. This in turn drove the need for cloud storage solutions as cloud storage solutions are required to provide a secure and accessible platform for storing and sharing files, thereby fostering collaboration.

Additionally, as remote work allows companies to tap into a broader talent pool by hiring professionals from various geographical locations, enhancing diversity and expertise, businesses are aggressively turning towards hybrid or permanent work-from-home modules in the region. For instance, in 2022, Microsoft Work Trends released an index report stating that 98% of the UAE businesses are turning to invest in hybrid workplace technology by 2024. As a result, with the growing preference for remote work among the MENA workforce, the demand for efficient data storage and transfer solutions is expected to rise, leading to an increase in the market size of cloud storage in the region.

The Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market Opportunity:

The Spiking Adoption of Metaverse Technologies Across Verticals to Open New Doors for the Market Players – The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is experiencing a significant surge in the adoption of metaverse constellations across various verticals such as gaming, tourism, retail, and real estate. This growth is driven by the ongoing digital transformation, which is aligned with the strategic plans of countries such as Saudi Vision 2030, Qatar Vision 2030, etc. Moreover, to embrace digital transformation governments of countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, etc., are substantially trying to provide a conducive environment for the growth of metaverse businesses. For instance,

• In 2022, the Dubai government launched Dubai Metaverse Strategy, which aims to attract more than 1,000 companies in the fields of blockchain and metaverse. In addition to this, the policy aims to generate more than 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030.
• In 2022, Egyptian creative community hub Tutera announced the launch of the first phase of Metatut, the first Egyptian city entering the Metaverse.

The MENA region's growing adoption of metaverse technology is poised to draw numerous companies specializing in these technologies to the region. These companies will produce extensive digital content, spanning immersive gaming encounters to virtual tourism, retail, and real estate applications. Owing to which the demand for efficiently storing, organizing, and delivering this content to users would surge, which simultaneously would create a fresh opportunity for Cloud Storage Market participants.

The Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market Challenge:

Data Privacy and Security Concerns restricting its Adoption – The evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats, including ransomware, phishing, and other malicious activities, undermines confidence in cloud storage. Concerns about the ability to protect data from these threats lead organizations to hesitate when considering cloud storage options. Moreover, the MEA region has seen a significant increase in data breach cases. These breaches can lead to the exposure of sensitive and confidential information, which is a major concern for businesses and individuals alike. The Middle East and Africa Business for Group-IB reported that there has been a substantial rise in ransomware attacks in 2021, with at least 50 organizations falling victim to such attacks, representing an 85% increase from the previous year. Along with this, phishing also remains a prevalent cybersecurity threat in the MENA region. Cybercriminals use phishing techniques to trick individuals and employees into revealing sensitive information such as login credentials and financial data.

Cloud storage accounts are often targeted in phishing attacks, leading to unauthorized access and data breaches. Hence, data privacy and security concerns, driven by the rising number of data breaches and phishing activities in the MENA region, are significant barriers to the growth of the Middle East North Africa Cloud Storage Market.

The Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market Trend:

Rapid Adoption of Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Solutions Creating New Trends in the Market – In the MENA region, many organizations are recognizing the need for flexibility in their data storage infrastructure, owing to which they are substantially adopting hybrid and multi-cloud solutions. Moreover, countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, etc., are witnessing an inclination towards hybrid work models, with employees working both in the office and remotely, which necessitates a versatile data storage strategy. Hybrid and multi-cloud solutions support data access and collaboration for a distributed workforce. This has resulted in a shift in cloud deployment models, with more businesses opting for a hybrid approach to meet their specific IT requirements. For instance,

• According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) in 2022, 85% of C-Suite executives surveyed in the UAE were actively pursuing or planning to implement hybrid cloud strategies in their organizations.

Additionally, the MENA region is experiencing digital transformation, and organizations are gearing up for future growth in data volumes and digital services. In line with this, the integration of hybrid and multi-cloud solutions would further surge due to the scalability and flexibility offered by the integration.

The Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market (2023-28): Segmentation Analysis

The Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market study of MarkNtel Advisors evaluates & highlights the major trends & influencing factors in each segment. It also includes predictions for the period 2023–2028 at the regional level. Based on the analysis, the market has been further classified as:

Based on the Demand Type:

• Business-to-Business (B2B)
• Business-to Consumer (B2C)

B2B cloud storage solutions experience high demand in MENA due to the region's growing business and enterprise sectors. Companies such as Carrier, Abu Dhabi Bank, etc., are widely adopting cloud storage solutions. The flourishing investments and expansion of business across the region, innumerable end-user industries are widely influencing this demand. This is owing to the fact that companies require secure, scalable, and efficient cloud storage to manage their data, to support digital transformation initiatives, and to facilitate remote work.

Additionally, the expanding E-commerce and healthcare facilities in the MENA region are exerting a positive influence on the demand for cloud storage in the region. The growth of E-commerce platforms in MENA has necessitated robust cloud storage solutions to manage the ever-increasing volumes of transaction data, customer records, and product information. These factors are widely influencing the demand for cloud storage from the B2B segment in MENA.

Based on the End User:

• BFSI
• Consumer Goods & Retail
• Healthcare & Life Sciences
• IT & telecom
• Energy & Utility
• Others (Automotive, Media & entertainment, etc.)

Among them, the BFSI segment holds a substantial share in the Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market. The financial industry deals with vast volumes of sensitive data, including customer information, financial transactions, and regulatory compliance documents. Owing to this the BFSI sector often incorporates cloud solutions including cloud storage as an advanced security measure, which is crucial for protecting sensitive financial data.

Further, in the MENA region, consumer banking has dramatically evolved from traditional branch transactions to online and mobile platforms. This is leading to a generation of vast amounts of transaction and customer data which needs to be safeguarded effectively to minimize cyber risks and credit loss. According to Mastercard's report on Banking's Next Experiment, in 2021, the Middle East & and Africa witnessed an increase in digital transactions from 70% of all transactions to 90%, and digital cross-sell activity has increased from 5% to 40%, as compared to previous year.

Moreover, various banks such as Qatar National Bank, Barclays, etc., are currently eyeing expansion strategies in countries of the Middle East and North Africa. This in turn is widely influencing the demand for cloud data storage for enhanced scalability, data redundancy, and backup to ensure data integrity.

The Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market (2023-28): Country Projections

Geographically, the Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market expands across:

• Saudi Arabia
• The UAE
• Qatar
• Egypt
• Israel
• Algeria
• Rest of the Middle East & Africa

Among them, Saudi Arabia is witnessing a considerable growth rate in the Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market. Saudi Arabia is witnessing rapid economic diversification and digital transformation efforts as part of its Vision 2030 initiative. As part of this, the end-user industries of the country such as finance, healthcare, and e-commerce are adopting digital transformation, which is leading to the generation of vast amounts of transactional, and trade data. As cloud storage offers the flexibility to accommodate such data, without the need for significant upfront investments in physical infrastructure that is why its demand is rising across the country as a scalable and cost-effective storage solution.

Thus, to support the surging demand, prominent cloud solution providers such as Oracle, Microsoft, and Huawei, among others, are increasingly expanding through investments in the country. Thereby, enabling businesses and individuals to leverage the advantages of cloud storage for their evolving needs, and boost the revenue growth of the market in Saudi Arabia. For instance,

• In 2023, Microsoft Corporation announced an investment of more than USD9 Billion to build a super-scaler cloud in the kingdom, Abdullah Alswaha. Saudi Arabia.

The Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Industry Recent Development:

• In 2023: Oracle announced to invest over USD1.5 Billion to boost cloud-computing capacity of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• IN 2022: Amazon Web Services (AWS) expanded the availability of AWS Storage Gateway to the AWS Middle East (UAE) Region enabling customers to deploy and manage hybrid cloud storage for their on-premises workloads.

Gain a Competitive Edge with Our Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market Report

• The Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market Report by MarkNtel Advisors provides a detailed & thorough analysis of market size & share, growth rate, competitive landscape, and key players. This comprehensive analysis helps business organizations to gain a holistic understanding of the market dynamics & to make informed decisions.
• This report also highlights current market trends & future projections, allowing business organizations to identify emerging opportunities & potential challenges. By understanding market forecasts, companies can align their strategies & stay ahead of the competition.
• The Middle East and North Africa Cloud Storage Market Report aids in assessing & mitigating risks associated with entering or operating level in the market. By understanding market dynamics, regulatory frameworks, and potential challenges, business organizations can develop strategies to minimize risks & optimize their operations.