GITEX 2024: Oracle opens two public cloud regions in Morocco

Hibapress
Oracle, the global information technology giant, announced Wednesday in Marrakech the upcoming opening of two Oracle Cloud regions in Morocco, as part of a partnership agreement signed with the Ministry of Digital Transition and Reform of Administration, the Ministry of Investment, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies, and the Moroccan Agency for Investment and Export Development (AMDIE).
This announcement was made on the sidelines of the official opening of the 2nd edition of Gitex Africa Morocco. With this initiative, Oracle will become the first hyperscaler to establish public cloud regions in North Africa, supporting Moroccan government digital initiatives and driving innovation across the continent.
The new infrastructures, which will be located in Casablanca and Settat, constitute an important step in the digital development of the region. They will help accelerate the implementation of the Kingdom’s digital government initiatives, offering high performance and security cloud services to organizations across Africa.
Ghita Mezzour, Minister Delegate in charge of Digital Transition and Administration Reform, stressed that “the opening of Oracle’s public cloud in Morocco will accelerate digital transformation throughout the region. This strategic expansion, with a hyperscaler like Oracle, positions Morocco as a unique player in the region and allows for even more dynamic development of skills and growth opportunities.”
For his part, the Minister Delegate in charge of Investment, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies, Mohcine Jazouli, welcomed Oracle’s investment on Moroccan soil, which reflects the “strong confidence in the expertise and talent of Moroccan youth”, and highlights “our commitment to promoting technological progress in our country”.
Richard Smith, Oracle’s Executive Vice President of Cloud & Tech for EMEA, noted that “as one of Africa’s largest economies and with strong commercial and cultural ties to Africa, the West, the Maghreb and Europe, Morocco offers unique growth opportunities to companies wishing to accelerate their expansion by deploying the latest digital technologies.
Customers and partners will benefit from access to cloud services, allowing them to derive greater value from their data. They will also be able to leverage redundancy and disaster recovery capabilities to improve business continuity and meet Morocco’s data residency regulations and requirements.
Last May, the Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform and Oracle Group signed a partnership agreement to launch a research and development (R&D) center in Morocco, which will create 1,000 high value-added jobs for Moroccan engineers and researchers. Oracle will thus expand its R&D capabilities in the Kingdom by increasing its local workforce to 1,000 IT professionals, thus strengthening Morocco’s position as a regional digital hub.