THE SKY’ S THE LIMIT FOR UAE’ S AI INFRASTRUCTURE
In building a digital future, the UAE could take a page from its aviation playbook. ALEC Data Center Solutions’ General Manager, Bjorn Viedge, argues that the same foresight and relentless investment that made Dubai a global hub could propel its IT infrastructure to new heights.
hen Dubai International Airport was first
W conceived in the mid-20th century, few could have imagined it would one day become the busiest international hub in the world. Yet through foresight, relentless investment and a determination to set global benchmarks, the UAE transformed aviation into a pillar of its diversification. Airports were not just transport nodes; they became the foundation for Dubai’ s rise as a global tourism, trade and logistics centre.
Today, the nation stands at a similar inflection point, this time in the digital economy. Just as world-class airports unlocked diversification into tourism and travel, world-class data centres will be critical to unlocking diversification into the digital economy. They will underpin the UAE’ s ambition to be a global hub for artificial intelligence( AI), digital services and high-tech innovation.
The new backbone of diversification
Large-scale, AI-capable data infrastructure is no longer a supporting element. It is the primary enabler of diversification. Sectors as diverse as fintech, media, logistics, healthcare and govtech all rely on high-density compute power. The UAE’ s National Digital Economy Strategy, which targets raising the digital economy’ s share of non-oil GDP to more than 20 % by 2031, cannot be achieved without robust data centre capacity.
This vision is being reinforced by government-led initiatives in Abu Dhabi, by strategic investments in subsea cables
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