Saudi
Arabia Data Center market is anticipated
to grow at a rapid pace in the forecast period, 2024-2028, The
growing adoption of cloud, big data, and IoT technology services, together with
government assistance, have all contributed to the rise of the Saudi Arabian
data center market. Growing preference and demand for computer and storage
capacity among businesses is also boosting the market growth. The IoT industry
will expand faster due to the fast 5G rollout in KSA and the ongoing digital
transformation, leading to a surge in latency-sensitive use cases needing local
computing capabilities. Saudi Arabia offers strong fiber connectivity across
the Middle East and is connected to several parts of the world, hence creating
demand for data centers in the country.
Data
centers are created and built as mission-critical infrastructure to process
data produced by consumers and commercial end users. Fiber optic cables
connected to satellites or telecommunication broadband connectivity connect
data centers to customers and companies. Servers, storage, network, and other
IT infrastructure are all included in data centers to process and store user
data. In order to provide end customers with services that are highly
available, extremely dependable, and scalable, data centers also include power
and cooling infrastructure. Depending on their location, size, and capacity,
data centers can cost hundreds to billions of dollars to construct.
5G Will
Increase Investments in Edge Data Centers
Edge
computing is becoming more popular in the market as a result of the rising use
of connected devices among consumers and organizations. In many Tier II and
Tier III cities as well as in rural areas, this has resulted in a significant
demand for higher-bandwidth internet, necessitating the construction of data centers
to process information on par with big cities’ data requirements. Edge data centers
have developed a decentralized data center architecture in which numerous edge
data centers are linked to a single hyperscale facility. Over 50 Saudi Arabian
cities have 5G coverage as of February 2021, with significant market
participants including Zain, Saudi Telcom Company, and MOBILY. In 44 cities,
Zain is offering 5G connections. Saudi Telecom Company is second with 22
cities, while MOBILY is third with 21 cities. An ICT infrastructure business in
Saudi Arabia named TAWAL has teamed up with Nokia to offer turnkey services for
the deployment and extension of 5G for TAWAL's infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
Throughout Saudi Arabia, TAWAL will upgrade approximately 670 4G sites with
Nokia's 5G technology. In 2021, Nokia will also swap out older towers for newer
ones. Together with network infrastructure partner Infovista and its radio
planning portfolio, Zain began Phase II of its 5G deployment in Saudi Arabia in
January 2021.
Moreover,
In Saudi Arabia, Nokia and Saudi Telecom Company (STC) have partnered to
develop innovative 5G use cases. Nokia will oversee STC's Technology Innovation
Center and provide STC with use cases for the latest 5G technology.
Additionally, STC has been contracted to offer 5G and IoT services for the
construction of NEOM, a megacity being built in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, STC
has teamed with Huawei and CISCO for the project's core infrastructure needs,
as well as Ericsson and Nokia for the delivery of 5G radio networks.
Additionally, starting in December 2020, STC will work with MediaTek and
Ericsson to offer 5G non-standalone data calls by using MediaTek's 5G chipset
and Ericsson's Ericsson Spectrum Sharing (ESS) in the FDD band.
Growing
Use of Refined Energy
Many
data center service providers have invested in clean, renewable energy sources
to run their existing and future facilities as a result of the rising data center
power usage and the desire to reduce carbon footprint. The two main energy
sources in Saudi Arabia are oil and natural gas, both of which have a negative
influence on the environment. Moreover, The King Salman Renewable Energy
Initiative and Vision 2030 both call for the National Renewable Energy Program
(NREP) to be implemented in order to fully utilize the country's potential for
renewable energy. Over the next ten years, Saudi Arabia is anticipated to
receive an investment of more than USD20 million for the production of
renewable energy.