Technology Selection: Cloud Computing Awareness, Usage, and Interest in the Middle East and Africa Government Sector

This IDC Government Insights report presents a detailed view of the evolving cloud computing landscape across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region from the perspective of government IT decision makers. This study provides in-depth analysis of MEA government sector cloud computing IT readiness, as well as insights into decision makers' familiarity with – and general attitudes towards – cloud computing, the industry's leading adoption drivers and inhibitors, the current and expected rates of cloud adoption, and key vendor selection criteria.

"There is great excitement and hype surrounding cloud computing in the MEA region. However, beyond a few early adopters, we are yet to see widespread adoption of cloud solutions among central and local governments. MEA public sector agencies still need to further explore and gather distinctive proficiency in order to define their business requirements and build a cloud services model suited to their operations. In particular, security concerns constitute the greatest deterrent to cloud adoption at present. As they are the key custodians of citizens' information, use of the cloud could expose government organizations to significant risk with potentially grave liability consequences." – Research Manager Mukesh Chulani, IDC Government Insights Middle East, Turkey, and Africa