People like to talk about so-called cloud computing, but in fact there is no real cloud of any kind. The term itself simply seeks to paint a picture of connected groups or chunks of technology that can get bigger or smaller depending on atmospheric (or in this case business) conditions. There is no real cloud. It's just a server in a datacentre. 

 

The cloud model of services-based IT means that we can now get all the applications, data storage, processing and analytics functions we need delivered through the Internet (called a ‘pipe’ in the industry – these days so reliable and connected that you can safely base your multinational business on this infrastructure). This has implications for the firms who consume these services and us the users of the resulting 'apps' that ultimately turn up on our smartphones and our desktops.

 

The cloud also has implications for our local IT skills base here in the Middle East. Software piracy has always been an issue across the Arab world. The region has made huge inroads into addressing the illegal copying and distribution of software, but a legacy issue still exists.

Endemic software piracy

 

The past four decades has seen endemic software piracy in the Arab world. As soon as some new Arab software startup got going to develop new solutions, it found its sales impacted by the fact that potential customers would just copy the programs that had been developed.

 

But the age of the 'floppy disk' and CD-ROM has all but gone. Users now download apps on their smartphones, tablets and personal computers whenever they are connected. All of this software now comes ‘from the cloud’ over the wireless airwaves. So then, could age of the cloud-powered app store have the potential to drive new energy and impetus into Arab language software applications and the Arabic speaking developers and software engineers who will be the makers in this movement?

 

The Founder of technology analyst house Quocirca, Clive Longbottom advises that cloud provides an ideal platform for the new blood of Arab coders wanting to code for profit, as it becomes almost impossible for software piracy to impact their revenue potential. Although online cloud code could be sucked down and redeployed somewhere else, it is a lot harder than copying a DVD or CD – and makes no sense whatsoever for a business.

 

No such thing as free piracy

 

“The problem Middle East software innovators have, therefore, is not going to be around the code itself - it will be in managing the change of user mindset from one of ‘I don't have to pay for this’ to one of ‘I need this, and I will therefore have to pay something for it’,” said Longbottom.

 

For Arab software developers to succeed then, they will require innovative subscription pricing and strong business messaging if they are targeting commercial software at organisations. Longbottom further advises they will need low pricing and constant continuous development/delivery if these new apps are aimed at consumers to keep their attention and keep them paying.

 

Times are indeed changing. It may be an urban legend or real world truth, but Arab technology industry commentators ‘fondly’ remember a time when the anti-piracy Business Software Alliance (BSA) regional office was established in Beirut. To all intents and purposes run by Microsoft, the offices were just down the street from what was in effect a piracy superstore with aisle upon aisle of copied software products all selling for a fraction of their formal list prices.

 

“I think the main opportunity for Arab coders arises from the lower barriers to entry,” said Wael Elrifai, senior director of sales engineering, EMEA & APAC at data analytics company Pentaho. “All the major cloud providers offer a ‘free tier’ of cloud computing sufficient for performing Proof-of-Concept trials. This is something that would have been totally unthinkable 10 years ago.”

Different landscape, technically & physically

 

Elrifai points out that while Western-backed start-ups certainly have better access to financial resources, they still lack the local context required to know that a food delivery firm like Deliveroo or online taxi service like Uber would struggle to really make use of its automated routing optimisation algorithms in a place like Beirut. This ‘foreign’ technology doesn’t ‘just fit’ this landscape automatically, in both technical terms and physical terms. Because of this Elrifai thinks the future is bright for home grown Arab software professionals – local startups such as Careem have made huge inroads into regional markets in the face of global competitors.

 

Professor of practice at SMU Cox School of Business Allen Gwinn still has concerns. Gwinn points to the likelihood of hacks and security breaches occurring in Middle East cloud datacentres and claims that the risks are higher in this region. It’s true that the cloud model grew up fast -- most would agree too fast, initially. While Professor Gwinn argues that some aspects of the cloud model have had their reputation tarnished, he concedes that a generational change could see an improvement in the region.

 

Perhaps it all comes down to professionally run cloud datacentres and professional Arabian cloud coming skills. The managing director for SAP UAE and Oman, Tayfun Topkoc points out that cloud skills are currently highly demanded by Middle East employers. “Middle East, startups, entrepreneurs and app developers are rapidly bringing local cloud solutions to market. As the Internet of Things era advances, cloud solutions will be more important than ever before to connect organisations with data analytics.”

 

The recent ‘Workforce 2020’ report by Oxford Economics and SAP shows that cloud skills have grown by triple digits since 2014. Cloud skills are now in demand by 44 percent of Saudi employers and 39 percent of UAE-based employers. Figures spanning the rest of the Arab world are also growing positively. Stemming from what are essentially cloud-based services, analytics, mobility and social media skills are also growing in employer demand by double or triple digits.

 

Support our Arab startups

 

Supporting the growth of cloud-based innovations, SAP recently announced plans to launch cloud datacentres in the UAE and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Further in this vein, SAP’s Training and Development Institute localizes solutions for the Arabic language and for the Middle East’s cultural and governmental specifics. Again perhaps we are looking at a generational change, or at least the need to empower the current generation.

 

“Multinationals, governments and startups need to develop the public-private partnerships that support the Middle East startup community, combining local knowledge with global market,” said SAP’s Topkoc.

 

So does cloud computing shine a new and positive light on Arab coders and software engineers of all related disciples? Yes it does and the weather looks promising, but there’s never a rainbow without some rain. Without extending the meteorological analogies too far, a new climate for Middle East software creation can be weathered if Arab coders are prepared embrace the cloud and get a little wet here and there as they drench themselves in the new opportunities that exist.

 

Some clouds are darker than others, but they all have a silver lining.