Microsoft recently announced the completion of construction on all three Azure availability zones in Saudi Arabia, with availability anticipated in 2026. These zones will be located in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, and each of them will feature independent power, cooling, and networking infrastructure.
In a press release, Microsoft said, “Once operational, the datacenter region will be pivotal in accelerating progress towards the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and strengthening the Kingdom’s position as a global hub of innovation, trade, and investment.” It further said, “The new datacenter region in Saudi Arabia will offer enterprise-grade reliability and performance combined with customer privacy, data residency, and high-speed latency standards on par with the rest of Microsoft’s global cloud infrastructure of more than 60 Azure regions.”
Saudi Arabia’s rapid digital transformation and Cloud First policy have made it one of the fastest growing data center markets in the world. It was in response to this burgeoning demand for digital infrastructure, that Microsoft had first announced its intention to expand Cloud Regions across Saudi Arabia in association with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in February 2023.
Recently, following a visit from a delegation of government officials from the MCIT, as well as Microsoft executives from the company’s headquarters and Saudi Arabia, Microsoft shared updates on the progress of its data center region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Turki Badhris, President of Microsoft Arabia, said, “Public and private sector organizations in Saudi Arabia have demonstrated a remarkable appetite to leverage the latest cutting-edge technologies such as AI to thrive in the new digital age and are already relying on Microsoft’s trusted cloud to accelerate their business growth and AI innovation. Now, together with the MCIT, we are excited to share these latest updates on our Saudi Arabia datacenter region, which demonstrate the significant progress we’re making and our commitment to strengthening the Kingdom’s position as a global innovation hub, in line with Saudi Vision 2030.”
Eng Mohammed Al Robayan, Deputy Minister for Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, said, “Saudi Arabia is well positioned to become a thriving global hub of technological breakthroughs, empowering organizations across industries to innovate new cutting-edge solutions that enhance the quality of life for all. We are proud to see the progress on Microsoft’s cloud region, which marks a significant milestone in our journey to achieve our national goals. This infrastructure will enable businesses to unlock new possibilities, harness the power of AI, and drive sustainable growth for the kingdom and the whole region.”