Global cloud platforms provide data protection assurances for Saudis.

Global cloud platforms provide data protection assurances for Saudis.

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Major players in the cloud computing sector are competing for presence in Saudi Arabia.
  • Saudi Arabia has allocated $18 billion
  • Leading companies are set to establish data centres
  • Saudi Telecom and Alibaba are at the forefront

The cloud computing landscape in Saudi Arabia is rapidly evolving as international companies establish their presence in the nation, offering assurances for the protection of government data.

This week, the Saudi Data and AI Authority announced that Saudi Arabia is investing $18 billion to position itself as a regional powerhouse in cloud computing, facilitating the entry of foreign companies to set up data centres.

Currently, Saudi Arabia boasts eight “cloud regions,” where 29 local and global providers have set up data centres, which includes the Cloud Computing Special Economic Zone located in Riyadh.


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Alibaba was a pioneer in this space, forming a partnership with state-owned Saudi Telecom (STC) in 2022, which led to the establishment of the first two of the 16 planned data centres across the nation.

“We’re the first hyperscaler in Saudi Arabia,” remarked Faisal Alkahtani, an advisor to STC, using the term that refers to the major global players in cloud technology, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, IBM, Oracle, and Alibaba.

“We leverage Alibaba’s cloud technology, combined with the expertise of local Saudis. The branding is managed by us as we have a better understanding of the Saudi market than an international firm,” he stated about the partnership, which was initiated as the Saudi Cloud Computing Company in 2022.

Alibaba has announced plans to invest $500 million in Saudi Arabia by 2027.

Other US-based companies are racing to keep pace. Oracle is committing $1.5 billion to establish three public cloud regions in Jeddah, Riyadh, and Neom. Google Cloud launched a cloud region in Dammam last November.

Amazon proclaimed in March that it plans to invest $5.3 billion to develop an in-country cloud infrastructure complete with data centres by 2026. Meanwhile, China’s Huawei Cloud commenced operations at a data centre in Riyadh in September 2023.

Localized data centres empower the government with complete oversight of information management while enabling the hyperscalers to tap into a lucrative market with a highly connected population exceeding 32 million people.

“It’s crucial to maintain sovereignty and localization, which necessitates that data centres operate within Saudi Arabia,” Alkahtani expressed during an AI forum in Riyadh this week.

“All our data centres at STV (Saudi Technology Ventures) are situated in Saudi Arabia, making us the primary custodian of everything hosted; it doesn’t even get shared externally with our partners.”

In November of last year, the United States enforced export controls on Nvidia’s leading chips to mitigate the risk of technology transfer to China. Despite this, Saudi Arabia has enhanced its collaboration with Nvidia this year. A Gulf-based diplomat noted that Saudi Arabia’s close relationships with both the US and China have raised concerns among US officials.


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