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Zoho Opens First UAE Data Centers For Local Cloud Solutions

The new Dubai and Abu Dhabi sites are part of an AED 100 million investment in the UAE that hopes to answer data sovereignty demands.

Published

8 months ago

January 14, 2026

Nour Nasir

Zoho

Zoho Corporation has opened its first UAE data centers, a Dubai – Abu Dhabi deployment that lets the software group host more than 100 cloud products locally. The sites span Zoho’s business apps and its enterprise brand ManageEngine, and sit within an AED 100 million investment pledge the firm made to the country in 2023.

Co-founder and CEO Shailesh Davey called the launch part of a wider commitment to the market, saying the centers would let customers “store their data locally, strengthening data sovereignty, and supporting National Cybersecurity Agenda”. He also linked the move to digital goals under Dubai Vision 2030.

Certification from the Dubai Electronic Security Center clears Zoho to serve government and semi-government work. The facilities also carry ISO 27001, ISO 22301, ISO 27017 and CSA STAR Level 2 compliance marks. Zoho’s Dubai office holds ISO 27001. For public buyers across the GCC, these stamps are becoming non-negotiable as cloud procurement tightens.

The UAE has been a growth engine for the company. Zoho reported 38.7% expansion in 2025, a 29% lift in partners and a 35% bump in headcount. Customer-experience tools, VAT-compliant accounting software, low-code development and collaboration suites led adoption. Over five years, the firm has invested AED 80 million to help more than 7,000 local businesses through deals with entities such as the Department of Economy and Tourism and Dubai Culture, pushing harder into enterprise accounts, which jumped 48% last year.

Also Read: Abu Dhabi Rolls Out Barq Ultra-Fast EV Chargers

Meanwhile, ManageEngine logged 20% growth in the UAE in 2025. Demand came from financial services, government and manufacturing. Adoption of its endpoint management, service management and observability products tracked a broader shift to cloud-first architectures, with hosted services growing around 35%. Davey said the combined portfolio would enable businesses of all sizes, and government and semi-government organizations adopt cloud technology for digital transformation in nearly every area of operation.

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Trip.com Is Betting An AI Agent Will Book Your Next Vacation

Abu Dhabi, Jazeera Airways and a run of hotel deals give the company more inventory. Its Mastercard demo says the most about where booking technology is headed.

Published

2 days ago

September 16, 2026

Nour Nasir

trip.com is betting an ai agent will book your next vacation

Most of what Trip.com Group announced at Arabian Travel Market 2026 this week reads like the standard expansion playbook of an online travel agency: a new agreement with a tourism board, a run of hotel partnerships, an airline deal. However, one item was considerably more interesting: a demonstration built with Mastercard of an AI agent that doesn’t just suggest trips but also pays for them.

trip.com tripgenie ai agent

The showcase put TripGenie, the company’s AI travel assistant, to work searching, selecting and completing purchases inside a single booking flow, with Mastercard’s Agent Suite for Merchants handling the payment step and Network International processing the transactions on the merchant side. It’s limited for now to attractions and ancillary services, but the partners plan a phased commercial rollout from early 2027.

“As traveller expectations change, technology and AI will play an increasingly important role in how people plan their journeys,” says Schubert Lou, CEO of Trip.com.

Meanwhile, in more conventional news, CEO Lou and Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry (Director General for Tourism at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi), signed an agreement building on the two organizations’ existing partnership, with joint marketing and Abu Dhabi destination content to be pushed across Trip.com Group’s platforms.

Also Read: Musk’s Boring Company Wants To Dig 150 KM Of Tunnel Under The UAE

On accommodation, the group expanded its partnerships with JA Hotels & Resorts, Ishraq Hospitality and Aleph Hospitality and deepened its work with Silkhaus, which brings vacation homes into a portfolio that has so far leaned on hotels. Jazeera Airways signed a strategic partnership intended to widen the Kuwaiti carrier’s reach and encourage earlier bookings, tied to Kuwait’s own tourism ambitions.

The company moved into a larger Dubai office earlier this year and describes its long-term aim as a two-way ecosystem: sending Middle East travelers abroad while drawing international visitors in.