MCIT, Microsoft Open First Datacenter Region In Qatar

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Lani Rose R Dizon | The Peninsula

Qatar's first hyperscale cloud datacenter region which was launched globally by the Ministry of Communications and Information technology (MCIT) in partnership with Microsoft yesterday is expected to bring over $18.7bn new revenue to the Qatari economy, in addition to adding 36,000 new jobs to the local market within the next five years.

The launch of the much anticipated Microsoft global datacenter region in Qatar was held under the patronage of Minister of Communications and Information Technology H E Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai and in the presence of Minister of Transport H E Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti and high-level officials from Microsoft and various sectors and industries in Qatar.

In addition to the new datacenter region, Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 was also launched during the event, giving organisations access to hundreds of scalable, highly available and resilient cloud services from Qatar.

Qatar's new Microsoft datacenter region now joins the world's largest cloud infrastructure footprint, significantly enhancing the country's global competitiveness as a digital hub. The datacenter region will also help Qatar diversify its economy, build talent and attract foreign investment, according to officials.

Speaking during the opening ceremony, Minister Al Mannai said:“We are delighted to translate our ideas and efforts in the field of digital transformation into reality on the ground. Cloud datacenters are expected to accelerate innovation, create jobs, encourage skilling and capacity-building initiatives, empower partners, and drive impact on the national economy in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030. At MCIT, we are proud of all that has been achieved so far in the field of transformation towards comprehensive digitisation, and we are honoured to realise the ambitions of the country's wise leadership and its vision of digital transformation.

“The launch of the datacenter today is considered an important milestone in the process of transforming Qatar into an advanced and pioneering digital centre in the Middle East and the world. These pioneering projects in the field of digital transformation, communications and information technology would not have been achieved without the ambitions of the country's wise leadership and its vision to this vital sector, believing in its crucial role in the development of other economic sectors. Legislative and legal regulation of the sector also enhance its attractiveness,” the Minister added.

Also speaking during the event, President of Microsoft EMEA Ralph Haupter said:“Across Qatar, Microsoft customers are already leveraging our trusted cloud to innovate, achieve their business goals and do more with less. We are proud to deliver the first hyperscale cloud datacenter region to the country, which will significantly amplify opportunities for even more transformation”.

Lana Khalaf at the event.

According to Lana Khalaf, Microsoft Country Manager, the newly launched datacenter region in Qatar provides the largest number of cloud services at launch in the history of Microsoft.

“With its longstanding history as an early adopter of technology, Qatar has completely embraced cloud solutions and revolutionised entire industries to develop a new, advanced digital economy. Today's announcement will enable the country to take these groundbreaking innovations to the world, showcase its standing as a leader in digital transformation and cement its place as a global hub for innovation,” said Khalaf.

She added:“The new datacenter region will add more than $18bn to the Qatari economy over the next five years, and will also bring more than 36,000 new jobs to the local economy over the next five years. The datacenter was built and designed with the highest sustainability standard globally. By utilising the Microsoft cloud services, you will be able to achieve more than 93 percent energy efficiency and more than 98 percent carbon efficiency, contributing to the sustainability efforts of Qatar. And soon we will also be launching the Dynamics 365 Cloud from Qatar to enable all business applications”.

In 2021, MCIT partnered with a global consortium of partners led by Ooredoo to bring to life the TASMU Platform. Microsoft played a vital role as a global technology enabler throughout this collaboration.

“In our continued, unwavering efforts to build a Smart Qatar that is digitally-powered and innovation-driven, we are committed to harnessing the power of integrated cloud-based technologies to offer endless potential value to the people of Qatar,” said H E Reem Mohammed Al Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Society Development at MCIT.

The Microsoft cloud datacenter region Qatar will drive growth and scale for the more than 100 Microsoft partners in the country, as well as global partners looking to establish themselves here. Microsoft partners such as EY, Ooredoo, Vodafone, QDS, PWC, ICT, Malomatia, Intel, Mannai, Meeza, Starlink, Veeam and more, are delivering transformative solutions across the Microsoft Cloud to drive customer success.

More than 70 percent of Qatari startups are on the Microsoft Founders hub. These startups have the potential to go on and become the next unicorns of their industries. Also a minimum of 11 global partners and ISV established operations in Qatar last year alone.

IDC's research also sheds light on downstream revenues generated by Microsoft's partner ecosystem. The findings reveal that for every $1 of Microsoft cloud-generated revenue, the partner ecosystem is expected to generate $7.87 by 2026, up from $6.41 by 2023.

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