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Amazon Web Services Launches In The United Arab Emirates

Amazon has expanded its reach into the UAE with the Middle Eastern branch of its AWS offering.

Published

4 years ago

September 1, 2022

amazon web services launches in the united arab emirates

Amazon Web Services promotes itself as the “world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform”. Now, the service is set to enter the Middle Eastern region, using local data centers and creating approximately 6,000 jobs in the process. The operation will require an entire construction and infrastructure supply chain, from maintenance and engineering to telecoms and more, bringing a planned $5 billion investment to the region’s economy.

“AWS is committed to helping customers in the UAE deploy the most advanced cloud technologies and achieve the highest levels of security, availability, and resiliency […] we are making it possible for even more customers to harness the power of the cloud to drive innovation across the UAE, while also investing in the local economy through job creation, training for highly sought-after technology skills, and education resources to further advance the UAE’s strategic priorities,” says Prasad Kalyanaraman, vice president of Infrastructure Services at AWS.

With the Middle Eastern arm of its operation in full swing, Amazon Web Services will be available in 87 zones worldwide, covering 27 geographic regions. The AWS UAE region will comprise three separate zones, joining with Bahrain (launched in 2019). It will enable residents to store data securely while achieving lower latency across the country.

When it comes to uptake within the wider economy, the service is already thriving, with tens of thousands of customers already using AWS across the Middle East and North Africa, including heavyweights such as Al Ghurair Investment, the Dubai Islamic Bank, Alef and GEMS Education, the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, and more.

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“The opening of the AWS Middle East (UAE) Region is a significant milestone for Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a whole, reflecting our efforts to generate opportunities for all […] It strengthens Abu Dhabi’s commitment to positioning itself as a leading digital economy by leveraging cutting-edge technology to support business growth,” says His Excellency Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.

As smart infrastructure and transformative technology continue to shape Abu Dhabi’s future, the public and private sectors continue to thrive, so there’s little doubt that more prestigious companies will follow in Amazon’s footsteps and expand into the region.

Related Topics:Amazon United Arab Emirates

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Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

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The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.