Saudi’s KAUST sets new standards for innovation with launch of Tier-III data centre

KAUST will be the first university in the region to have a commercial tier III data center on premise

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has announced its partnership with Dubai-based data centre space provider Global Data Hub (GDH) to launch a new commercial tier-III data centre. 

The new 27,600m2 structure will house 8,000 m2 of white space, with a minimum capacity for its future customers of 14.4 MW IT load. It located at the KAUST Research and Technology Park and will cater to the regional data centre requirements within Saudi Arabia and provide cloud services. 

KAUST will be the first university in the region to have a commercial tier III data center on premise. This development is in line with KAUST’s growth as a centre for scientific and technological research, as evidenced by its partnership with other innovative corporate entities.

The Middle East’s data centre market is expanding, driven by the need for secure cloud services and robust IT environments, particularly as government regulations require local data to remain within a country’s borders and its cloud infrastructure. 

“We are excited about the opening of this new Tier Three Data Center, which has the potential to transform digital innovation and support advanced research at KAUST,” said Jason Roos, CIO, KAUST. 

“With the state-of-the-art facility provided by GDH, we will have the capacity and flexibility to process, store, and analyse vast amounts of data generated by our world-class research programs. This will enable us to accelerate our research initiatives, enhance collaboration across disciplines, and drive innovation in diverse fields ranging from energy and environmental science to artificial intelligence and computational biology.”

According to KAUST, the establishment of the data centre is not only aimed at encouraging global partnerships but also enhance the advancement of knowledge in an economy driven by innovation. By partnering with GDH, KAUST reiterates its commitment to addressing urgent challenges like energy and environmental sustainability, which are crucial components of the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision. 

“The trend among IT thought leaders is to lease data center space from experts rather than build in-house data centres,” said Tarek Al-Ashram, CEO of GDH. “As a vendor-neutral facility, the KAUST data centre will solve a range of data storage needs while maintaining the flexibility to accommodate a wide range of future research parks and external partners.”