Microsoft today held Open Cloud Innovation Day at the Spanish Soccer School in Dubai Sports City, where football enthusiasts and regional business leaders gathered to hear how digital transformation and Open Source technologies can play a pivotal role in success throughout the world of sport and beyond.

The event was organised in co-operation with soccer legend, Míchel Salgado, former Spain and Real Madrid right back and recently appointed Assistant Coach to the Egyptian national team. In a packed schedule, Salgado talked about how technology can be used in sport to assess and fine-tune individual and team performance, while making tournaments and live matches more interactive for fans, whether they are watching in the stadium or at home.

Microsoft experts such as Andres Prieto, Open Source Lead, Microsoft Middle East and Africa; and Fernando Marin, Open Source Lead, Microsoft Gulf outlined the company’s strategy for the Gulf region, which includes the promotion of open-cloud architecture, and close partnership with governments and businesses on issues such as regulatory compliance, cybersecurity and the skilling, upskilling and reskilling of students and professionals in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. They also spoke of the advantages of open cloud and how the ability to integrate various technologies ensures the success of digital transformation journeys.

Microsoft partner Cloudera also participated in the event. Sid Bhatia, the company’s regional director explained how his company is using Microsoft Azure to help regional customers accelerate their digital innovation programmes.

The increase in uptake of its cloud services has motivated Microsoft to bring its intelligent cloud closer to its customers in the middle east. The company this year announced that it will make available the trusted Microsoft Azure cloud to regional companies through two new dedicated datacenters, one in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi - due to open in 2019. Customers will be able make the most out of the Microsoft Cloud by availing themselves of enterprise-grade reliability and performance, combined with data residency and the broadest compliance.