The sixth Hajj Conference and Exhibition in Jeddah showcased the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah’s move to cloud computing in a session titled “Cloud Computing: The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah’s Transformation Journey to Serve Pilgrims,” part of the Empowerment and Integration track, which explored how the shift has made digital services more efficient and reliable and eased pilgrims’ journeys.
The session brought together officials from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, the Digital Government Authority, Elm, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
The session highlighted the migration of the Nusuk digital platform to the cloud, completed last January. The ministry now runs 100% on cloud computing, with 99.99% service availability and 50% faster processing, ensuring service continuity and responsiveness to users’ needs. The platform offers more than 500 services and processes 4.4 billion transactions a year. With demand fluctuating sharply during the Hajj and Umrah seasons, the cloud provides the technical resources needed to scale capacity dynamically and manage peak usage efficiently.
The transformation began two years ago to address the limitations of traditional data centers, including keeping systems running during peak seasons, integrating with more than 70 local and international entities, high operating and maintenance costs, and expanding the use of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
The ministry redesigned its digital service architecture for the cloud and carried out rigorous testing as systems and their components were migrated, to ensure a smooth transition before final implementation. The process culminated last June in the closure of the former Hajj and Umrah Information Center data center in Jeddah, which had served the sector for 24 years.
The session also addressed the importance of cybersecurity and protecting connections between systems and integrated entities, applying zero-trust principles, and preserving data sovereignty by hosting data in the Kingdom in line with national regulations and standards. It stressed the role of partnerships among the ministry, government agencies, and technology companies in the transformation’s success.
The value of the cloud transformation lies in its impact on users, making it easier to issue Hajj and Umrah permits and book appointments to visit Al-Rawdah Al-Sharifah through the Nusuk platform, saving time and effort, and providing more flexible, reliable, and sustainable digital services for pilgrims, the session concluded.
Source: Riyadh Daily