With stc Group making big moves to support Saudi Arabia's vision for 2030, the country is progressing on its journey to digital transformation. Highlighting some of these key initiatives at the Capacity Middle East event in Dubai, the group offered a tantalising peek into the future.
stc Group has been stepping up its drive towards digital transformation in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East with a range of recent moves involving submarine and data centre projects, partnership agreements and digital services.
Tackling market needs from a variety of fronts is enabling the company to grow its home market as a digital hub from a variety of directions at the same time. One of these was the launch of the Saudi Vision Cable last August, comprising a 1,160km network linking four subsea hubs in Red Sea cities and helping fulfil the country’s vision for 2030.
Following swiftly on from that, stc made a major step by debuting center3, a new company that owns the group’s digital assets – including data centres, subsea cables, international points of presence and internet exchange points. The aim is to enhance the position of the Middle East and North Africa as a regional digital centre.
Furthermore, among a variety of other initiatives, stc and center3 have both recently announced partnership deals aimed at boosting the region’s digital ecosystem, while the group has introduced a new wholesale portal to strengthen customer experience.
This ‘mywholesale’ portal is an integrated digital platform that grants telecoms providers the ability to review and manage all aspects of their relationship with stc Group and control the operation of the services they receive.
Platform for growth
stc Group highlighted its recent activity and made some moves at this year’s Capacity Middle East event in Dubai in March, which the company supported as a diamond sponsor under the theme ‘take a peek’.
The conference gathers hundreds of key players in the ICT sector to discuss potential future collaboration, as well as global expansion opportunities in the wholesale sector.
Joined at the event by subsidiaries stc Kuwait, stc Bahrain and center3, the group seized this opportunity to highlight these latest advanced infrastructure projects, which serve clients locally, regionally and internationally, and are aimed at driving digital transformation.
“Our sponsorship of Capacity Middle East emphasises our role as a digital leader providing innovative products and services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the wider region,” says Mohammed Alabbadi, group chief carrier and wholesale officer at stc.
“At stc Group, we are dedicated to enhancing Saudi Arabia’s position as a regional digital hub by providing the capacity and speed of connectivity required for operators and international players. We are building a strong digital infrastructure and developing a highly efficient network of international cables to meet and fulfil stc Group’s goals in line with the Kingdom’s regional ambitions.”
Deals struck
The group made a number of deals on the sidelines of the Middle East event, including a partnership agreement with Qwilt, which will enable the carrier to provide an all-edge content-delivery-network footprint closer to subscribers. This was aimed at meeting growing user demand and the needs of businesses, enabling them to reach a wider audience and drive growth by onboarding additional content providers and enhancing end user experience.
stc Group also signed an agreement with China Mobile International, geared towards providing end users in the Middle East with a seamless experience through the implementation of IoT technology.
center3 has signed a number of agreements too, including a partnership deal with the cloud-networking company neutrality.one for the establishment of a point of presence in Jeddah. This will offer direct low-latency connectivity between there and Marseille in France, while helping to support Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation and bolster its position as a strategic location.
In addition, center3 signed a partnership agreement with Kaopu Cloud to support the expansion of the global edge cloud provider’s services in Saudi Arabia. This will involve the provision of hosting and data services in a move that aims to increase the localisation of content, further supporting the country’s drive to become the region’s leading digital hub.
As a chance to highlight all these types of activity, stc Group looks forward to its participation at Capacity Middle East each year. Providing the opportunity to unite the region’s key ICT players and enable the exchange of ideas, the company views the event as a platform to strengthen the region’s digital sector.
stc Group’s commitment to digital transformation is aimed at boosting the Middle East as a digital hub. Contributing to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 blueprint, the group’s efforts are geared towards shaping the region’s future to the benefit of businesses and end users. The developments it has recently showcased reveal the innovative future awaiting the region.
