News

GITEX GLOBAL 2024 Hosts MENA’s Largest Data Center Forum

The conference highlighted innovations in AI-driven infrastructure, job creation, and sustainable practices.

Published

2 years ago

October 18, 2024

gitex global 2024 hosts mena's largest data center forum

GITEX GLOBAL 2024, recognized as the world’s premier tech and startup gathering, hosted the largest data center event in the Middle East on Thursday at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). The event showcased the region’s ambition to solidify its leadership in the rapidly growing global data center industry.

The conference spotlighted the significant role of artificial intelligence (AI) in transforming data infrastructure. Leading enterprises offered attendees a glimpse into cutting-edge innovations, setting the stage for the future of hyperscale, modular, and edge data centers.

The “Data Centres Universe” segment of the event focused on how growth is being achieved within the sector. Key players such as Khazna, Legrand, Vertiv, Alibaba Cloud, AWS, DELL, Google Cloud, IBM, and Lenovo gathered to share insights on the industry’s trajectory. They explored strategies for accelerating growth and highlighted the role of expanding data centers in fostering AI-powered innovation.

During a panel discussion, Hassan Al Naqbi, CEO of Khazna Data Centers, emphasized that the development of data centers not only fuels market growth but also drives talent development and job creation. Al Naqbi dispelled the misconception that data centers are not job generators, stating: “Data centers are vital for economies and have different roles involved. If you look at all the hyperscales, their data centers are having a huge impact on the economy as people can secure jobs which are vital for the day-to-day operations”.

The conversation also shifted to the future, with industry experts stressing the importance of sustainability in their expansion as next-generation technologies and services continue to evolve.

Also Read: Dubai Police Launch New Smart Home Security System

Marc Marazzi, Vice President of Legrand Data Center Solutions, shared his thoughts on the need for thoughtful planning in the rapidly expanding sector. He stressed the importance of balancing growth with environmental responsibility, noting: “Today, [data centers] are bigger than ever before and being built faster, but we must not lose sight of the importance of how we manufacture, what we are installing, and how they are managed”.

The hugely successful GITEX GLOBAL 2024 concludes today with Futuristic Friday, showcasing breakthrough technologies including quantum computing, advanced robotics, and space tech.

News

At I/O 2026, Sundar Pichai Concedes AI Must Deliver Real Value

Gemini 3.5, a personal agent called Spark, agentic shopping, and Android XR eyewear are all aimed at making AI feel useful, not just impressive.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 20, 2026

Nour Nasir

at io 2026 sundar pichai concedes ai must deliver real value

Google

Google’s annual I/O developer conference (I/O 2026) has recently become a status update on the same question: can the company turn its AI spending into products people use every day? This year, chief executive Sundar Pichai described Google as being in a phase of hyper progress, while conceding this is the part of the cycle where people want to see real value in the products they use on a day-to-day basis.

The strategy on display was to push agents — AI systems that act on a user’s behalf — into nearly every Google product at once. Search now has an “intelligent search box” that returns generated explainer videos alongside links. Gmail, Docs, YouTube and Maps are gaining their own agent layers, including a Docs Live feature that turns spoken instructions into drafted text with citations.

Two new models, Gemini 3.5 and a cheaper Gemini 3.5 Flash, arrived the same day. Google says 900 million people now use Gemini, and that more than 50 billion images have been generated with it. The pricing tier names are likely to confuse buyers: a new AI Ultra plan launches at $100 a month, while the older Gemini AI Ultra drops from $250 to $200.

The flashier announcements were Gemini Omni, a video generator pitched as a more realistic answer to OpenAI’s discontinued Sora 2, and Gemini Spark, a personal agent that handles recurring tasks across a user’s Google account. A new universal shopping cart lets agents complete purchases across multiple retailers from inside Google itself, placing the company between the merchant and the buyer, and also owning the checkout.

Also Read: DJI Teases Dual-Camera Osmo Pocket 4P For 2026 Launch

Google also confirmed its Android XR eyewear, built with Samsung and frames from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Audio-only glasses ship this autumn; a display-equipped version, which would superimpose live translations into the wearer’s field of view, is still in development. Both sets translate, however only the display version shows you the result.

What Pichai did not resolve is the bargain underneath all this. An agent is only useful to the degree it knows your calendar, your inbox, your shopping history and your physical surroundings. Google has now confirmed that, in time, the same context may carry advertising.