News

PowerSchool Launches Arab Version Of Its EdTech Platform

The cloud-based solution is now available to Middle Eastern users, helping schools with administrative, communication, and classroom workflows.

Published

2 years ago

June 20, 2024

Nour Nasir

powerschool launches arab version of its edtech platform

PowerSchool, a leading cloud-based education software provider, today announced the launch of newly translated and localized solutions for the UAE and wider Gulf Coast and Middle East region.

Native-Arabic speaking educators will now be able to accomplish critical administrative, communication and classroom workflows using newly-updated Arabic translations, as well as access a right-to-left oriented interface, Hijri calendar overlay, and more.

PowerSchool’s platform is able to log student records and create reports in their native language, while teachers can now create enhanced, personalized lessons for their students and digital forms for parents.

powerschool edtech arabic interface

Finally, PowerSchool’s multi-language AI-powered assistant is also in development, and the company plans to launch the tool in the Middle East in the near future.

“With the UAE and other GCC countries prioritizing digital transformation in education, we are pleased to announce the availability of our educational and operational products in Arabic,” revealed Stewart Monk, Senior Vice President & General Manager, International at PowerSchool. “This also aligns with our commitment to provide mission-critical support to education leaders to provide personalized learning for students globally”.

Also Read: Top Free AI Chatbots Available In The Middle East

Along with the launch of a new Dubai office in 2023, PowerSchool seems highly invested in localized Arabic products. The latest announcement from the company strongly signals its commitment to the Middle East and GCC, and comes after the publication of its 2024 Education Focus Report, which takes a deep dive into the region’s education trends and developments.

“PowerSchool’s commitment to providing Arabic localization across its products reflects an understanding of their diverse user base and their commitment to inclusivity,” explained Mohammed Essam, PowerSchool Lead at ESOL Education. “This investment can lead to closer collaboration with educational institutions in the Middle East, fostering innovation and progress in the education sector. Overall, this is a promising direction that could benefit both PowerSchool and the educational community in the region”.

News

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.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

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.