A Strategic Collaboration Focused on AI, Security, and Sustainability Will Drive Digital Transformation Across Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
IBM announced a major expansion of its Strategic Collaboration Agreement (SCA) with AWS, marking a significant step to accelerate secure cloud adoption and digital transformation throughout the Middle East. This strategic partnership combines the industry expertise, AI, and hybrid cloud leadership of IBM Consulting with the advanced cloud capabilities of AWS.
The region is experiencing explosive demand for cloud services, fueled by emerging technologies like generative AI (GenAI), machine learning, and IoT. This growth is especially strong in sectors such as banking, healthcare, retail, and e-government. Critically, bold national digital transformation agendas, including Saudi Vision 2030 and the UAE Digital Economy Strategy, are pushing both governments and enterprises to modernize infrastructure, boost productivity, and invest heavily in cloud and AI technologies.
Designed to accelerate technology transformation across the region, the collaboration leverages IBM Consulting’s Global AWS Practice, which holds strong credentials in GenAI, data modernization, and cloud migration.
A key pillar of this partnership is the planned establishment of the first IBM-AWS joint Innovation Hub in Riyadh. This hub will serve as a showcase for their combined capabilities, allowing customers to explore proofs of concept and gain hands-on experience with the latest cloud and industry solutions, including IBM’s advanced AI platform, watsonx. This local hub will build on successful models previously established by the companies in India and Romania.
To support this growth, IBM plans to invest substantially in expanding its AWS Practice skills across the region, particularly in Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the UAE, ensuring a robust pool of certified local professionals is available to navigate complex cloud transformations.
AWS, in turn, will support IBM in localizing and developing new solutions built on the AWS platform. These offerings include impactful tools such as Contact Center Intelligence, Smart Government solutions for AI-powered citizen engagement, and Supply Chain Ensemble, helping organizations align with national priorities around economic diversification and sustainability.
Security is a foundational element of this agreement. By merging IBM Consulting’s end-to-end cybersecurity services with AWS’s global cloud architecture, the collaboration aims to set a new standard for cloud protection.
A centerpiece of this security focus is Autonomous Security for Cloud (ASC), a managed service from IBM Consulting that uses AI-driven automation to deploy consistent security policies. Together, IBM and AWS will provide tailored security assessments to help organizations, especially those in regulated sectors, meet local standards—such as the National Cybersecurity Authority’s (NCA) Essential Cybersecurity Controls (ECC) and the Abu Dhabi Healthcare Information and Cyber Security Standard (ADHICS)—from the very start of their cloud journey.
The collaboration directly addresses sustainability, aligning with key regional initiatives like the Saudi Green Initiative and the UAE’s sustainability vision. Through global expertise and localized solutions like IBM Consulting’s Sustainability Disclosure Assist, organizations can modernize IT infrastructure while making progress toward net-zero and other ESG mandates.
“This collaboration represents a significant milestone in IBM’s commitment to helping organizations across the Middle East realize their digital transformation ambitions,” said Lula Mohanty, Managing Partner – Middle East and Africa at IBM Consulting. “Our partnership with AWS will help organizations leverage the power of cloud technologies while building critical technical capabilities in the region.”
Tanuja Randery, Managing Director and Vice President EMEA at AWS, also added: “Our collaboration with IBM will enable businesses and governments across the Middle East to adopt breakthrough technologies at scale, while reinventing core processes with AI. This will enable organizations to access new levels of agility and resilience through the cloud.”
