GITEX: Oracle brings cloud smarts to Morocco

Oracle will showcase cloud innovations aimed at boosting Africa’s digital economy across key industry sectors at GITEX Africa 2023 starting tomorrow in Marrakech.

Its presence at the show comes in the wake of Oracle last year opening a new research and development lab at Casanearshore Park in Casablanca. The lab is expected to house up to 100 researchers who will use Oracle’s cloud, AI, and machine learning technologies to tackle pressing challenges facing business, science and the public sector.

The team will collaborate with Morocco’s vibrant technology sector to support the identification, exploration, and transfer of new technologies that can advance users’ businesses worldwide.

“Oracle has been present in Africa for more than two decades and our technologies are at the heart of some of the most inspiring business transformations across the continent”, says Nick Redshaw, Oracle senior vice president of tech cloud for Middle East and Africa.

“We continue to invest in Africa by establishing cutting edge digital infrastructure, expanding local presence, enabling the local IT ecosystem, and strengthening the continent’s digital talent pipeline. GITEX Africa will serve as a platform for our customers, partners, and visitors from across Africa to explore the numerous growth possibilities that can be achieved with Oracle Cloud.”

It has been a landmark period for Oracle cloud services in Africa, Oracle launched its first cloud region in Johannesburg, South Africa, earlier last year. The region is playing a key role in accelerating the adoption of latest digital technologies while also helping African businesses achieve better performance and drive continuous innovation.

The Johannesburg region is built on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), which enables customers to migrate IT workloads and data platforms to the cloud or build new cloud-native applications. Oracle also offers a wide range of application modernisation and cloud strategies to help African organisations operate with global competitiveness.

It now has 12 dedicated offices in Africa, including two each in Nigeria and Egypt and one each in South Africa, Algeria, Kenya, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Morocco, and Mauritius,

In Morocco, the new research lab will include expanding intern and graduate recruitment programmes, undertaking joint research with local universities and working with the local start-up ecosystem so they can be part of this global program.

Oracle CEO Safra Catz said at the time of its launch: “Oracle’s investment in Morocco reflects the improved economic environment we see among the signatories of the Abraham Accords, the monumental agreement that is forging peace and prosperity across the region. Establishing this new Oracle R&D centre in Casablanca will enable us to access an outstanding pool of talent from across the region, benefit directly from its new economic ties to Israel, and provide our customers around the world with new cutting-edge technologies.”

The new Oracle facility will be part of Oracle’s global R&D innovation network. In these centres, researchers apply novel approaches and methodologies using cloud-based technologies to create meaningful solutions. This work includes research, consulting, and product incubation. Most projects involve university collaborations and interns from over 50 universities worldwide.