THESE NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS MAKE THE UAE AN ATTRACTIVE DESTINATION FOR DATA CENTRE INVESTMENTS , WITH INVESTORS VIEWING IT AS A SAFE AND DEPENDABLE OPTION .
EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
HOW WILL INCREASED INVESTMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST DATA CENTRE MARKET INFLUENCE ENGINEERING STRATEGIES ? s the government ’ s
A push towards Digital Transformation fuels demand for data centres in the Middle East , the UAE has firmly established itself as a leader in driving the data centre evolution with around 28 active colocation facilities , revealed JLL in a whitepaper at Cityscape Global .
Several data centres and cloud providers have either established a presence or are seeking to expand their footprint in the country .
The whitepaper , Unleashing the Potential : The Future of Data Centres in the Middle East and Africa , recognises Dubai and Abu Dhabi as the region ' s prime data centre markets and two of the smartest cities , not only in the region but among the top 20 globally , according to the latest Institute for Management Development ' s Smart City Index .
This reinforces the UAE ’ s continued efforts to transform into a strong digital economy and consolidate its position in the region ’ s growing data centre landscape . Key players like Khazna and Equinix are further accelerating this momentum , with the former aiming to achieve a total planned capacity of 300MW by adding 12 new facilities to its portfolio in just two years .
Besides boasting an outstanding Internet penetration rate of over 98 %, the UAE has also gained recognition as the regional Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) innovation hub , driven by initiatives such as Smart Dubai and Dubai Artificial Intelligence in Health .
Moreover , on the back of a strong Artificial Intelligence Strategy , the country also aims to integrate AI across various sectors , including healthcare , transportation and government services .
These notable achievements make the UAE an attractive destination for data centre investments , with investors viewing it as a safe and dependable option .
Delving into the multitude of factors influencing and enabling the investment environment , JLL ’ s whitepaper highlights the role of hyperscalers in shaping a thriving data centre market in the region .
While the Middle East is attracting substantial investments from top hyperscalers and major cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft , the UAE currently has the largest presence of hyperscalers in the region .
These companies have announced novel cloud availability zones slated for deployment through their data centres in the country , augmenting business competitiveness by providing advanced architecture and robust endto-end security for seamless business operations and reliable Disaster Recovery solutions .
THESE NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS MAKE THE UAE AN ATTRACTIVE DESTINATION FOR DATA CENTRE INVESTMENTS , WITH INVESTORS VIEWING IT AS A SAFE AND DEPENDABLE OPTION .
While the data centre market in the Middle East is still in its early stages of development , it is growing rapidly . The region is expected to be one of the fastest-growing data centre markets in the coming years , given its strong potential for expansion to bridge the gap between limited supply and growing demand .
At present , around 73 colocation facilities are operational across the UAE , Saudi Arabia , Qatar , Oman and Kuwait . www . intelligentdatacentres . com
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