RIYADH: Google Cloud has announced the launch of a Center of Excellence in Saudi Arabia to provide training on emerging cloud technologies, as the tech giant strengthens its presence in the Kingdom. The CoE will provide training courses in the latest cloud technologies which include artificial intelligence, machine learning, and application and infrastructure modernization, according to a press release. The courses, which will be offered at no cost, will help upskill Saudi professionals who are leading digitization efforts in their businesses or keen to pursue a career in the cloud industry, it added. An announcement regarding the opening of the CoE was made during the Next’22 Developers Hub event hosted by Google Cloud in Riyadh. The company said 300 developers enrolled as the first cohort of trainees at the CoE as it launched a 60-day skill development program for them, along with providing a certification. The new CoE in Saudi Arabia comes in line with Google’s vision to train more than 40 million professionals around the world in cloud technologies. The center will run multiple cohorts throughout the year that are available to professionals of all ages in the Kingdom, the press release added. “Google Cloud is launching a Center of Excellence in Saudi Arabia to support the realization of the National Vision 2030 and its Human Capability Development program in specific, which aims to ensure that Saudis have the required capabilities to compete globally,” said Bader Al Madi, Saudi Arabia country manager for Google Cloud. He revealed that Google is also opening up the center virtually to ensure that professionals from all areas of the Kingdom will get accessibility to the courses offered. Al Madi added: “The launch also comes at a time where businesses of all sizes in the Kingdom are realizing that the need to go digital is inevitable and are embracing digital transformation as a top priority, and thus require trained professionals who are well versed in the Cloud industry to lead the transformation.” During the event, the tech giant also announced the launch of Google for Startups Cloud Academy, a 10-week program designed for startups across Saudi Arabia. During a separate event last week, Microsoft"s Chief Cybersecurity Adviser Abbas Kudrati said that a shared responsibility model between the provider and customer is necessary for cybersecurity in the cloud. “Cloud will give you agility and flexibility. But, if you have not configured your cloud environment correctly, it will be directly get connected to the Internet, and hackers are constantly scanning all the public IP addresses,” said Kudrati during a panel discussion at the Global Security Forum in Riyadh. At the event, Mark Ryland, director in the office of the Chief Information Security Officer at Amazon Web Services, remarked that cloud technology will be the key for enterprises in the future, and both large and small firms can reap the benefits of it. He added: “Cloud offers several benefits to small and medium-sized enterprises. Using the Cloud platform, you can stay more or less automatically on the cutting edge of technology.”