END USER INSIGHT
How does the GCC region and its data centre practices differ from the likes of Europe and North America ?
One of the key differentiators between the GCC market and more established markets is that we ’ re starting from an emerging market position so there are opportunities everywhere . Competition is tough in the likes of FLAP-D and North American markets , with a real squeeze on leasing rates , difficulties in accessing power infrastructure and a whole host of supply chain issues that are hindering growth . This is in addition to the increasing challenges new data centre developments are facing when trying to obtain planning permissions .
In the GCC , leasing rates are starting from a much higher base , power is readily available and the pricing is very low and stable . Much of the power and fibre infrastructure is also new , so reliability is very high . What ’ s more , there is a huge amount of government backing to build an enormous amount of new capacity to meet demand . For instance , the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ’ s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has allotted an US $ 18 billion investment in hyperscale data centres and renewable energy by 2030 to grow
the market supply to 1,300 MW . Kuwait ’ s government also recently approved three new Google data centres and Microsoft ’ s cloud data region in Qatar is supporting the Qatari government ’ s National Vision 2030 to create a sustainable , diversified economy . All of these actions have led to a snowball of data centre investment and activity in the region .
How can the data centre industry succeed in attracting young and diverse talent to the sector ?
The industry has become a bit expectant in assuming that every entry-level employee or university graduate will come fully stocked with knowledge about the sector and years of experience behind them . But our industry doesn ’ t work in that way . We need to put the time and effort in to help young people build their knowledge and experience , and actively engage them with the inner workings of the industry . There is also the tendency for the industry to be marketed outwardly as quite dull and boring , so we need to get better at marketing ourselves .
At the GDCA , our aim is to launch an internship programme for young people to give them exposure to the industry and get them actively involved in the sector . We also encourage a diverse range of speakers at our events – in fact , we have more women than men on our team .
Are there any key differences that data centre operators in the Middle East need to be aware of in comparison to other regions ?
The first thing to note is that it ’ s a young , emerging data centre region . While the market can buy all the same equipment used internationally and adhere to familiar international standards , the market is immature in comparison to its established counterparts . The likes of pricing strategy and competent operations are still in flux , and there is a while to go before it looks like a major FLAP-D or North American hub . An important difference also is that until very recently , the data centre industry was almost entirely based out of the region ’ s telcos , while North America and Europe had that trend phased out more than a decade ago . This means that the region ’ s incumbents are still learning how to differentiate between connectivity and colocation , along with how to commercialise the colocation component .
However , the infancy of the market means there is a huge amount of potential and plenty of opportunities . The ease with which foreign investors and players can enter the market has eased dramatically
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