EQUINIX & OMANTEL
THE COVID-19 FACTOR
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The current crisis has , Gardiner explains , dramatically accelerated the pace of digital transformations around the world . “ Before COVID-19 , a digital transformation project could be expected to take two years , and now that same transformation has to happen in two months . The conversations we ’ re having with other countries in the Middle East have been accelerating ,” she says .
A recent report from Deloitte identified the trend , noting that a global shift towards remote work , and the pandemic rendering on-premises data centres inaccessible has rapidly accelerated cloud migrations around the world . “ We ’ ve seen two years ’ worth of digital
transformation in two months ,” Microsoft CEO , Satya Nadella told Deloitte , confirming Gardiner ’ s assertion .
Executing a historic joint venture like the one between Equinix and Omantel is a challenging feat at the best of times . However , Gardiner reflects , the companies ’ respective teams rose to the challenge commendably . “ Previously , we would have never thought we could achieve something like this without travel ,” she says . “ While it ’ s been disappointing not to be able to do a lot of the work in person , it ’ s also been really rewarding to see the teams join together and integrate successfully , even in the midst of a pandemic .”
DECEMBER 2020