The Middle East is the fastest-growing region for Cloudera
Says CEO Charles Sansbury at EVOLVE24 Dubai
For Cloudera – the only true hybrid platform for data, analytics, and AI – the Middle East is the fastest-growing region worldwide.
In his keynote address to 300+ data leaders, partners and customers at EVOLVE24, the Middle East edition of the company’s global series of conferences, held at the iconic Museum of the Future in Dubai City on September 12, 2024, Charles Sansbury, CEO of Cloudera, stated: “The Middle East is our fastest-growing region in the world, and we believe that it can grow even quicker.”
He detailed Cloudera’s strategic plans to enhance its presence in the Middle East, a region it is deeply committed to. These plans include further investments in regional sales teams, support capabilities, and physical infrastructure.
“We are making additional investments in the region in terms of the sales team, improving our support capabilities, and increasing our physical presence on the ground with the realisation that it is essential,” said Sansbury.
Customer-centric company
He also emphasised Cloudera’s substantial investments and the importance of balancing global scale and personalised support. “We remain a customer-centric company, always striving to provide our valued customers with the best solutions and support,” he added.
Acknowledging the dynamic environment of the Middle East, Sansbury shared his reflections on the region’s growth. “I came to Dubai for the first time about 20 years ago, and for those familiar with that timeline, Sheikh Zayed Road was a long road with two or three buildings,” he recalled. Comparing past experiences with Dubai City’s current state, he noted: “Even now, there are places with buildings that did not exist 20 years ago!”
Sansbury, completing his first year as CEO of Cloudera, also highlighted his recent travels across the Middle East region, noting the rapid development. “I spent last week in Saudi Arabia, where the pace and dynamism of the economic growth are high,” he said.
He acknowledged the hospitality he received during his current visit to the Middle East and expressed enthusiasm for returning. “I have been coming to the region for a long time, and each time, it seems the region surprises me with its pace of growth,” Sansbury remarked.
Billion-plus dollar company
Reflecting on his tenure at Cloudera, Sansbury shared his excitement about the company’s potential. “First and foremost, we have great products, customers, and a significant market opportunity; global scale and world-class customers; and aligned and supportive investors,” he said.
He highlighted the company’s financial robustness and global reach: “We are a billion-plus dollar company. We have operations in more than 100 countries.”
Sansbury emphasised Cloudera’s commitment to innovation and investment. “We have spent more than a billion dollars on R&D,” he noted, outlining the company’s focus on enhancing its product offerings and introducing new platforms. He also assured the audience of Cloudera’s alignment with long-term vision and investor support.
Addressing Cloudera’s evolution and its focus on hybrid and cloud solutions, Sansbury explained: “We collectively manage over 25 exabytes of data on behalf of our customers. It is probably the most significant data management group any software company handles worldwide.” He also outlined Cloudera’s role in managing large-scale data and providing critical enterprise-class technology.
Hybrid architecture
Sansbury also discussed the company’s strategic priorities, including its approach to hybrid architecture. “One of the things I said earlier is aligning with common goals and priorities as a company based on the work we have done; we are aligned behind delivering true hybrid capabilities for our customers,” he said while elaborating on the need for seamless operations across on-premises, private cloud, and public cloud environments.
Furthermore, Sansbury highlighted the growing importance of modern data architectures and artificial intelligence (AI). “The largest organisations in the world are increasingly identifying and adopting hybrid and hybrid architecture as their endpoint architecture,” he stated. He underscored Cloudera’s role in supporting customers through their AI initiatives, focusing on operationalising AI and managing data effectively.
Sansbury elaborated on the collaborative effort required to provide technical expertise and business insights to tackle complex data challenges. He also acknowledged the contribution of the company’s partners and customers to its success: “Cloudera does not achieve the success we achieve in the marketplace alone.”
Sansbury also noted that Cloudera has launched the Cloudera Private Link Network to address critical data security and privacy concerns for highly regulated organisations with strict internal data security policies. The Network provides secure, private connectivity from customer workloads to the Cloudera Control Plane, ensuring that data does not traverse the public internet.
As Sansbury neared the end of his address, he reaffirmed Cloudera’s commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction.
“We have the products to help accelerate our customers’ global journey. We solve some of the most complex and demanding data problems and challenges for the world’s biggest companies,” he concluded.
Featured image: Charles Sansbury, CEO of Cloudera, delivers his keynote speech at EVOLV24 at the Museum of the Future in Dubai City on September 12, 2024. Credit: Arnold Pinto
Last Updated on 3 months by Arnold Pinto