UAE

Overview

The UAE is the largest and most established market in the Middle East. Its access to oil and gas helped the country develop and become a key player in the regional landscape. In recent years, the UAE government has put an emphasis on digital transformation and the infrastructure required to facilitate it. With government support, available land and power and an increasing demand from a young demographic, the local data centre market continues to see an uptick in developments.

Split between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Dubai was the country’s original data centre hub as financial institutions’ requirements grew. Throughout the years, Abu Dhabi has witnessed a considerable increase in IT capacity and is now the largest of the two cities in terms of total IT capacity. Hyperscalers have adopted various strategies, establishing either one or two cloud regions across the country depending on their requirements. Khazna, a local operator backed by G42 and Etisalat, stands out as the largest wholesale colocation operator in the UAE with more than 500 MW of total IT capacity.