Alex Bouzari, CEO of DDN, says the Middle East is fast becoming a global leader in AI-driven data centers, fueled by bold investments in sovereign cloud, smart cities, and platforms like DDN’s Infinia.
How would you characterize the current state and growth potential of the data center market in the Middle East, particularly in countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar?
The Middle East is undergoing one of the fastest digital infrastructure expansions globally. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar are investing billions into sovereign cloud, AI factories, and smart cities like NEOM.
What sets the region apart is velocity. National visions like Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the UAE’s Sovereign AI Strategy are directly driving AI-first infrastructure buildouts.
DDN sees the Middle East as both a growth market and a global proving ground. Already powering initiatives at KAUST, G42, Aleria, and Aramco, our AI-optimized platforms align with ambitions for energy innovation, sovereign AI, and digital-first economies, giving the region an immediate leadership role in shaping global AI.
What are the primary drivers behind the surge in data center demand in the region—cloud adoption, AI, smart cities, or something else?
Cloud adoption matters, but the real accelerators are AI-driven agendas, smart city megaprojects like NEOM, and sovereign data mandates. Governments treat AI as a national differentiator, driving multi-billion-dollar investments. These ambitions demand high-performance storage and scalable AI platforms.
DDN uniquely enables this shift, supercharging over a million GPUs worldwide and powering AI factories with partners in the region. As one UAE leader told us, “The region isn’t just building data centers—it’s architecting digital economies.”
With AI as the common denominator, DDN delivers the throughput and efficiency required to turn these bold visions into operational reality.
What role does DDN currently play in supporting hyperscale, enterprise, or government data centers across the Middle East?
DDN already underpins mission-critical workloads for KAUST, G42 Cloud, Aleria Soverign Cloud, and government-backed research across Saudi Arabia and the UAE. From advancing energy analytics at Aramco to enabling AI-first sovereign platforms, our infrastructure delivers unmatched performance and resilience.
What differentiates us is proven scalability. DDN platforms deliver linear storage performance growth at scale, enabling organizations to expand without compromise. Globally trusted by 7 of the top 10 financial institutions and 6 of 10 automakers, DDN gives Middle Eastern enterprises and governments the agility to execute their most ambitious AI initiatives. Simply put, we are the infrastructure foundation powering the region’s sovereign AI ambitions.
How is DDN adapting its go-to-market strategy to align with local regulations, data sovereignty requirements, and national digital transformation initiatives?
Data sovereignty isn’t a checkbox in the Middle East, but it’s the cornerstone of national digital strategies. DDN adapts by delivering infrastructure that combines global-class performance with sovereign control.
Our Infinia platform provides cloud-like agility with full compliance, deployable on-premises, in sovereign clouds, or hybrid models. By aligning with Saudi Vision 2030, UAE National AI Strategy, and Qatar Vision 2030, we ensure transformation is secure and future-ready. Collaborations with regional leaders such as KAUST and Mubadala reinforce this approach. DDN ensures organizations can embrace world-leading AI infrastructure while retaining sovereign control of their most valuable asset: data.
Can you speak to any strategic partnerships or collaborations that DDN has formed in the Middle East to expand its reach and capabilities?
Partnerships are central to our regional strategy. DDN works with G42, Mubadala-backed initiatives, and leading system integrators to deliver AI infrastructure tailored to local needs. Also, DDN collaborates with Aleria on sovereign infrastructure to enable AI for enterprise and governement entities. Our collaboration with KAUST accelerates national research, while integration into NEOM’s AI-first architecture supports the world’s most ambitious smart city. In Saudi Arabia, our platforms help energy leaders like Aramco harness AI for innovation. Combined with alliances in compute and networking, we deliver high-performance ecosystems that enable faster deployment and localized support. These collaborations ensure DDN isn’t just present in the Middle East – we’re embedded in the region’s most transformative national initiatives.
What new technologies or innovations is DDN introducing to the Middle East market, particularly for handling high-performance, AI, or edge workloads?
In the Middle East, DDN is introducing Infinia, our next-generation AI data platform, which unifies flash-first performance, intelligent data management, and multi-cloud flexibility. With throughput designed to scale AI across millions of GPUs, DDN enables generative AI, 5G, and edge workloads with unmatched efficiency.
For sovereign AI factories with G42 and mega projects like NEOM, we integrate observability and orchestration to reduce complexity. Customers such as KAUST benefit from global innovation with local deployment flexibility, ensuring their data centers aren’t just meeting today’s AI needs but are future-proofed for the next decade of digital transformation.
How receptive is the regional market to adopting advanced storage solutions like AI-enabled infrastructure, flash-based systems, or parallel file systems?
The Middle East is highly receptive and often leapfrogs legacy systems entirely. Governments and enterprises recognize that AI and smart city workloads cannot run on traditional models. As one UAE partner told us, “Flash-first architectures and parallel file systems aren’t optional—they’re essential.”
DDN sees accelerating adoption across sovereign AI platforms like G42 Cloud, research leaders like KAUST, and energy innovators like Aramco. Customers choose DDN not just for raw performance but for intelligent infrastructure that lowers TCO while scaling AI workloads. This future-first mindset means adoption curves here are faster than in Western markets, making the region a showcase for AI-native infrastructure.
Looking ahead, how does DDN plan to stay ahead of the curve as the region accelerates adoption of emerging tech such as generative AI, 5G, and smart infrastructure?
DDN’s strategy is to anticipate, not follow, the technology curve. As generative AI, 5G, and smart infrastructure take hold, we’re embedding intelligence into every layer of data management. Already powering sovereign AI with G42, global financial leaders, and energy giants like Aramco, our platforms evolve to deliver sustainability, hybrid flexibility, and simplicity at scale. This allows customers to focus on innovation, not infrastructure.
In the Middle East, where digital transformation is advancing at record speed, DDN ensures that national initiatives like NEOM and research at KAUST have the infrastructure foundation to lead globally in AI, smart cities, and next-gen industries.
