THE INFANCY OF THE MARKET MEANS THERE IS A HUGE AMOUNT OF POTENTIAL AND PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES .
END USER INSIGHT
END USER INSIGHT in recent years and is in fact being actively encouraged . Bahrain ’ s Cloud First Policy , for example , has opened the market to international cloud players , while the Salalah Free Zone in Oman is offering international data centre investors top incentives to enter the market . Some governments are also offering lucrative incentives including heavily subsidised power costs , making grid prices some of the cheapest in the world .
What advice would you give to hyperscalers to adapt to the climate in the Middle East ?
The first thing to know is that the Gulf region has a wide range of temperatures and geographies , from snowy mountains to tropical oases to scorching deserts . In Saudi ’ s capital , Riyadh , temperatures can drop to – 1 degree Celsius in the winter and go as high as 50 degrees Celsius in the summer .
Prioritising energy efficiency is key with this variation in mind . Unsurpingly , cooling requirements throughout the summer months are intense , so raising the temperatures that data halls need to be cooled down to would make a massive difference along with maintaining the need for data centres to be supplied with renewable power . The region is making big steps forward in renewable energy options , but there are still only a few markets that can offer any form of renewable power . The UAE and Saudi Arabia are leading this charge , prioritising the decarbonisation of their energy sectors by heavily investing in renewables as part of their strategies to achieve net zero targets by 2050 and 2060 , respectively . The UAE will invest US $ 163 billion to achieve its net zero emissions target while Saudi Arabia said it aims to invest more than US $ 186 billion into a green economy .
How will the progress made by GDCA members contribute to the growth of the data centre sector in the region ? new factories for components , new consultancies and more investors . We ’ re also starting to record and collect data on the GCC market as a whole and as our members contribute more to this knowledge pool – the more accurate it becomes means we can better understand the opportunities in the market .
A good example of how the GDCA will continue to contribute to the growth of the sector is the work being undertaken to clarify the data regulations of each GCC market . We will be publishing information on this in conjunction with a group of leading law firms from the region at our Touchdown event in November .
What will the data centre landscape look like in the next 10 years in the GCC ?
The first thing will be a change in scale . Data centres in the region are currently quite small compared to established markets but we can expect them to grow significantly bigger over the next decade , particularly with the arrival of international players . Today , many new data centres are still under the 20MW size but we expect that to grow and catch up to the larger facilities being built elsewhere . Indeed , an influx of international data centre developer / operator brands will fundamentally alter the makeup of data centre companies in the region , evolving them from the local , telco operator-based models of
THE INFANCY OF THE MARKET MEANS THERE IS A HUGE AMOUNT OF POTENTIAL AND PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES .
today to the more established , wholesale colocation blueprints designed to operate larger facilities .
In addition , international connectivity will continue to grow in the region , especially as more new subsea cables connecting the Gulf continue to be developed . This will be key as the GCC will likely play a big part in the changing data flows between Europe and Asia . We expect the region to become a larger hub , both for hosting and transiting data .
Going forward , the GCC can also demonstrate to the rest of the world some unique thought leadership and technological innovations for the data centre industry . Steps forward in renewables and cooling in the region , for instance , could have a huge impact on the sector in making data centres more efficient and safer and will solidify the GCC ’ s place as a positive contributor on the world stage . �
In our first year , we ’ ve managed to attract more companies and investors to the region which in turn contributes to the growth of the industry . It ’ s not just new data centres that have arrived , but
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