F5 Networks has unveiled EMEA’s first ever Future of Multi-Cloud (FOMC) report, highlighting game-changing trends and charting adaptive best practice over the next five years.

The F5 commissioned report was conducted by the Foresight Factory, which drew on its proprietary bank of over 100 trends and original research across 25 regional markets. It also features exclusive qualitative interview input from influential EMEA, global and Middle East-focused cloud experts specializing in entrepreneurialism, cloud architecture, business strategy, industry analysis, and relevant technological consultancy.

“The Future of Multi-Cloud report is a unique vision for how organizations can successfully navigate an increasingly intricate, cloud-centric world. The stakes are higher than ever, and businesses that ignore the power of the multi-cloud today will significantly struggle in the next five years. While Saudi Arabia is encouragingly receptive to what is now an imminent technological shift, it is crucial that we better understand the resulting opportunities and pitfalls moving ahead,” said Mamduh Allam, Regional Director, Saudi Arabia & North Africa, F5 Networks.

The FOMC report comes at a time of significant cloud excitability.

According to the figures cited in the study, 81% of global enterprises claim to have a multi-cloud strategy in place.

Meanwhile, the Cisco Global Cloud Index estimates that 94% of workloads and compute instances will be processed by cloud data centres by 2021. Video streaming and social networking are major contributors to the ongoing rise; Netflix users alone consumed more than one billion hours of video content per week in 2017.

In Saudi Arabia, research agency Think Positive recently found that 99% of surveyed c-level executives and business owners believe cloud technology can have a positive impact on market share and help to displace competitors. 89% also stated that it can improve brand perception, and 92% praised its capacity to improve innovation. 97% believe cloud technology is integral to the rollout of Saudi Vision 2030. — SG