Alibaba Cloud Strengthens Service Capabilities in MEA Region
Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, unveiled an upgraded local service program in collaboration with partners for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region at GITEX Global to provide enhanced supports for customers’ digital transformation.
The local service program is designed to support every stage of customers’ digital journey, from evaluating the existing IT architecture to providing technical support for the migration and helping optimize the cloud infrastructure.
The program is structured to offer assistance at multiple levels:
- Support layer:Â Encompasses a wealth of self-help resources, technical aid, and customer service centers to address any cloud-related concerns.
- Professional services layer: Offers expert guidance for tasks like cloud migration, architecture blueprint design, application mobilization etc. It offers cloud consulting, implementation, maintenance, and optimization solutions across public, private, and hybrid clouds for a holistic cloud migration experience.
- Managed services layer:Â Involves incident management, automation, security and compliance, risk and incident detection that span the entire lifecycle of cloud projects, leveraging its network of service partners.
To accelerate the digital transformation and cloud adoption in MEA, Alibaba Cloud will also cooperate with service partners to provide training and certification. It aims to develop local learning pathways, provide free cloud migration service for more than 100 startups, and offer training to over 5000 digital talents in the next 3 years in the MEA region.
Highlighting the upgrade in their service model, Alfred Wan, Director of Alibaba Cloud Expert Service from Alibaba Cloud Global Technology Services said, “In response to the rising demand for digital solutions in the MEA region, we’ve launched this comprehensive service model in collaboration with partners to support our clients’ digital demands. With our cutting-edge technologies, committed local services, and extensive partner ecosystem, we hope to become our customers’ trusted cloud service partner in their digital transformation journey.”
Empowering the Next Generation with Digital Skills
At GITEX Global, Alibaba Cloud also underscored its commitment to fostering digital talent development in the MENA region. At the heart of its educational initiatives is the Alibaba Cloud Academic Empowerment Program (AAEP), a global education program that works directly with accredited universities and other educational institutions to provide resources and tools to educators, students, and researchers.
Under the AAEP program, over 55,000 people in the MEA region, including customers, partners, developers and students are expected to access the training resources from Alibaba Cloud in collaboration with local educational institutions in the next three years.
It has signed two separate memoranda of understanding with the Hashemite University, organization Galaxy for Technology for specialized technology education in artificial intelligence in Jordan, represented by Dr. Reema Diab. The cloud computing company will develop technical training programs, professional development programs and research activities with the two institutions to enable educators and students to develop practical skills in innovative technologies that fulfil industry demands.
In line with this program, Alibaba Cloud and UAE-based Westford University College have inked a partnership aimed at transforming the educational landscape in the region via digitalization.
Mr. Hanil Das, CMgr FCMI CEO at Westford University College & Westford Uni Online, Co-Founder & Executive Director – Westford Education Group said, “Our institution has found an ideal partner in Alibaba Cloud. Leveraging their technological advancements, we are set to transform the educational landscape in the region. This partnership allows us to provide updates and top-tier education that blends quality and credibility with real-time application. Westford eagerly anticipates the exciting milestones this collaboration is bound to unlock.”
Alibaba Cloud, in collaboration with Khalifa University of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, UAE, has also introduced GITEX AI InnovateFest 2023 as part of its commitment to nurturing local talent in the MEA region. This inaugural AI hackathon seeks to empower local talents to solve complex challenges and develop innovative solutions using Generative AI solutions from Alibaba Cloud.
Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, said: “As the UAE’s top-ranked research-intensive higher education institution that excels in nurturing future leaders through collaboration, Khalifa University is pleased to partner with Alibaba Cloud for the GITEX AI InnovateFest 2023, the inaugural hackathon to seek Generative AI solutions. Our world-class faculty expertise in machine intelligence, and our existing infrastructure in organizing, leading and supporting hackathons and competitions in this area, will guide participants and help them compete effectively. We believe this hackathon will bring out the best from the region’s most talented students who will assess real-world business challenges to find solutions tailored to specific business scenarios.”
As part of the competition, participants will undergo training at Khalifa Innovation Center (KIC), the deep-tech incubator located at Khalifa University that hosts tailored incubation and scale-up educational and mentorship programs and activities, especially for startups. By leveraging Alibaba Cloud’s solutions, ranging from Platform for Artificial Intelligence (PAI) to Elastic Compute Service (ECS), the hackathon will offer a platform for participants to showcase how Generative AI can boost productivity and improve user experience.
