Cloud, AI, Regional Interconnectivity and the Making of a Digital Hub
This report analyzes UAE's data center colocation opportunity. Including demand analysis, supply dynamics, cloud infrastructure build, market structure, competitive context and much more. Also including a detailed view of market size and projections.
The UAE is the largest commercial colocation market in MENA, and one of world’s vital digital hubs. The market has entered a new phase of growth, underpinned by a strong uptake in AI workloads and a strong growth outlook.
The UAE has largely achieved its transition from oil-driven to knowledge-based economy. The Emirates have one of the most diversified economies in the GCC, with ~70%+ from the non-oil sector.
Over the past decade, the UAE has emerged as one of the world’s most vital hubs for international connectivity - and the largest in the Middle East. The country is the top destination for hyperscaler infrastructure in the MENA region, and the world’s 12th hyperscaler destination based on number of cloud regions, ahead of such key markets as Spain or Sweden.
Growth has been solid, if concentrated; commercial capacity supply has been expanding by an average of nearly 25% annually - the country’s live IT load has tripled in three years. The expansion of cloud provider regions, a steady stream of enterprise migration to cloud and colocation services and the UAE’s relentless push towards AI have bolstered demand further.
