Zoom Communications is using Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) to support its new AI assistant in Saudi Arabia.
Dubbed "Zoom AI Companion," the company used OCI to optimize its AI models, and will use the cloud platform for inferencing workloads.
Elsewhere, Oracle has also brought its Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications to its EU Sovereign Cloud platform.
Zoom selected OCI in Saudi Arabia for its AI assistant to meet the Middle Eastern nation's regulations surrounding data sovereignty. All customer data has been kept in the region.
The video calling platform is using OCI for inferencing workloads via the Oracle Cloud Riyadh Region, and the Oracle Cloud Jeddah Region, and the AI assistant has been optimized to work efficiently with "GPU shapes in [the] local OCI region."
“The successful introduction of AI Companion in Saudi Arabia demonstrates how OCI’s powerful sovereignty capabilities and AI infrastructure are helping the world’s most innovative organizations deploy enhanced AI solutions while meeting regulatory and compliance standards around the globe," said Karan Batta, senior vice president at OCI.
Zoom selected OCI as its cloud provider in 2020. However, shortly after the announcement, Amazon Web Services claimed that Zoom has long used AWS cloud for back office traffic, with much of its service using AWS. The company is also a customer of Microsoft Azure.
In March 2024, Zoom announced it would be reducing its dependence on cloud services, instead focusing on its 29 colocated data centers worldwide. It is a customer of Equinix and Digital Realty among others.
Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications now available on Oracle EU Sovereign Cloud
This week has also seen Oracle expanding its Oracle EU Sovereign Cloud offering.
Now available via the sovereign cloud in all 27 EU member states is Oracle's Fusion Cloud Applications Suite, enabling customers to use Oracle offerings while ensuring data privacy and sovereignty.
“As organizations in Europe move their most important business functions to the cloud and look to take advantage of the latest AI innovations, many are focused on the importance of data residency and privacy,” said Steve Miranda, executive vice president of applications development, Oracle.
“This is especially important for public sector organizations and regulated industries across the EU that need to reassure citizens and customers that their data is not leaving the country or region. With Oracle Fusion Applications on Oracle EU Sovereign Cloud, customers can leverage the latest advancements in AI to optimize business processes and enhance the experience they deliver to their employees while remaining in compliance with local data sovereignty requirements.”
Oracle launched its EU Sovereign Cloud in June 2023. The cloud is comprised of two regions to support disaster recovery, and each region has three fault domains to avoid grouping workloads on the same physical hardware.
