New data center to be built in Middle East
SAUDI ARABIA--Plans are underway to establish the largest Internet data center in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where the new facility will serve as a disaster recovery site for enterprises and the public sector.
In a report Monday by English daily Arab News, the government-run Madinah Knowledge Economic City (KEC) signed an agreement with U.S. companies DeepCloud and Oracle in a deal estimated to worth US$133.33 million (SR400 million).
DeepCloud will own and operate the regional data center that will span an area of 30,000 square meters in the city, while Oracle will provide the design and technology to power the new site, the report said.
The data center is envisioned by the Saudi government as "a next-generation cyber-technology facility anchored by the region's first carrier- and vendor-neutral Tier 4 Internet data center". Tier 4 data centers are designed to offer the most secure and high-availability environment suitable for hosting mission-critical systems.
The new DeepCloud facility will house mission-critical applications and sophisticated computer system, as well as redundant systems including backup power supplies and fire-suppression and security devices.
It will be the first of several data centers the U.S. vendor will build in the kingdom, serving various industries and businesses throughout the Saudi Arabia and across the MENA region that require highly reliable and bandwidth-intensive environments.
The new site will also serve as a disaster recovery center for the government sector, according to Arab News. A statement from government-owned KEC said the center will be "a critical infrastructure for Saudi Arabia's knowledge economy, and will assist industry and businesses by running the applications that handle their core business and operational data".
Joel D. Pinaroc is a Filipino freelance IT writer currently based in Saudi Arabia.