Saudi Arabia’s government cloud-first mandate represents one of the most aggressive public sector cloud adoption policies globally. The Digital Government Authority’s directive requires all federal agencies and state-owned enterprises to migrate primary workloads to cloud infrastructure by the end of 2027, with legacy on-premises systems permitted only where specific security or regulatory exceptions apply.
Tiered Architecture
The government cloud strategy employs a three-tier classification system that determines where different categories of data and applications may be hosted.
Tier 1 (Classified) workloads encompass defense, intelligence, and national security applications. These must run on government-owned sovereign cloud infrastructure operated exclusively by Saudi entities with the highest security clearances. stc’s government cloud division and Elm (the Ministry of Interior’s technology arm) are the primary Tier 1 providers.
Tier 2 (Sensitive) workloads include citizen personal data, healthcare records, financial data, and other categories requiring data residency but not physical isolation from commercial infrastructure. These may run on dedicated government partitions within hyperscaler Saudi regions, subject to NCA certification.
Tier 3 (Public) workloads include open data applications, public-facing websites, and non-sensitive analytical workloads. These may use any certified cloud provider without geographic restrictions, though Saudi-hosted options are preferred.
Migration Progress
As of Q1 2026, approximately 58% of government applications have been migrated to cloud environments, up from 22% in 2023. The migration pace has accelerated following the establishment of dedicated cloud migration teams within each government entity and the availability of pre-certified cloud architectures through the DGA’s cloud reference catalogue.
The remaining 42% of workloads are disproportionately composed of legacy mainframe applications and specialized departmental systems that require significant re-architecture before cloud migration is feasible. The DGA has established a Legacy Modernization Fund of SAR 2.4 billion to support these complex migration projects.
Cost Optimization
The government estimates that cloud migration has reduced IT infrastructure costs by 34% across migrated agencies, driven by reduced capital expenditure, improved utilization rates, and the elimination of duplicative infrastructure. Total government IT spending has increased slightly in absolute terms but now funds significantly expanded digital service capabilities.