From the UK to Saudi Arabia: How is Sword Scaling Cloud Adoption Across Industries

Supported by AstroLabs as its expansion partner, Sword has amped up its efforts to strengthen its presence in the Saudi cloud computing conduit.

In 2024, the Saudi digital economy reached about $495 billion, contributing 15% to the GDP. The cloud computing scope has emerged as a cornerstone of the country's IT digital infrastructure.

As a result, enterprise demand for cloud services remains at an all-time high, leading to increased public cloud spending as organizations aim to accelerate seamless growth through cloud adoption. In fact, spending on public cloud services is expected to reach $2.5 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 25%.

Global firms such as Sword Group are at the forefront of this change in Saudi Arabia, offering advanced digital transformation solutions to help businesses facilitate their database migration to the public cloud.

Expanding to Saudi Arabia from its headquarters in the UK, Sword has a wide global presence spanning 50 countries, leading the charge in cloud and AI-driven digital transformation domestically and abroad.

Big Market Opportunity Attracts Global IT Giants to Saudi Arabia

As cloud-managed services become indispensable to digital transformation, major hyperscalers are making substantial investments in Saudi Arabia in anticipation of an imminent surge in demand.

For instance, Microsoft has recently announced a $2.1 billion investment to establish a cloud data center region in the Kingdom, one of its largest digital infrastructure projects in the Middle East.

Similarly, Google Cloud has partnered with Aramco to launch a new cloud region in Dammam, catering to local businesses with high-demand workloads. Oracle has made Riyadh a strategic priority with the launch of its second public cloud Saudi Arabia region, which is part of a broader $1.5 billion investment aimed at expanding Saudi Arabia's cloud capacity.

These developments speak to the country's robust digital infrastructure and conducive IT operating environment, providing Sword with the foundation upon which it expands and scales rapidly.

"We help companies take on the challenge of migrating to public cloud infrastructures and understanding what the benefits are—how to safely and securely, and in a compliant way, take on that [cloud] capability and use it to turbocharge the growth of their organizations," said Rob Mossop, COO and General Manager of Sword Saudi Arabia.

Mossop noted that much of this growth is fueled by the National Transformation Program, CITC's Cloud First Policy, and high-profile giga projects. This transformation is supported by the strong depth of technology and expertise that Sword brings to the market.

The company's distinctive strength lies in its versatile scope and comprehensive service portfolio. Mossob further highlighted the large market opportunity that cuts across wide industry verticals in Saudi Arabia, as the company aims to provide customized cloud computing solutions across the energy, public, and finance sectors.

Giga Projects Anchor Sword's Rapid Footprint Expansion

Sword's rapid growth in Saudi Arabia is evident through its direct involvement with large-scale projects like the $500 billion NEOM project. Markedly, Sword is assisting multiple NEOM-related organizations in the energy and water sectors with advanced information management, data science, and analytics initiatives.

Mossop highlighted that a giga project like NEOM provides an ideal environment for Sword's technology and business practices, allowing the company to fulfill its commitment to meet industry standards and customer expectations.

"We've been doing lots of exciting things in NEOM, and that's in an environment where they have already embraced some of the digital capabilities that we’re used to helping customers exploit," he added.

The company's expansion was facilitated by AstroLabs, the Gulf’s leading business expansion platform, which played an instrumental part in enabling Sword to navigate market entry and post-setup requirements efficiently.

"The reality is we wouldn't be here doing this today if it weren't for the support we've had from AstroLabs. It is particularly true when it comes to the knowledge they have about the processes involved​ and all of the minute details of how to get the setup just right," Mossop explained.

With its active pursuits in Saudi Arabia, Sword leads the way in addressing the growing digital appetite of enterprises for seamless cloud integration, supporting the nationwide movement to accelerate the transition to a digital-first economy.

"We felt it was time that we commit properly to the region and build more opportunity for ourselves and help that huge demand that we see for the uptake of more modern, cloud-based services and digital capability," Mossop concluded.