UAE DATA CENTERS

The UAE has developed into an important data center market in the Middle East, supported by cloud adoption, digital transformation, hyperscale requirements, and its position as a connectivity gateway between Asia, Europe, and Africa.

The portfolio tracks 38 existing and 23 upcoming facilities across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain, and Fujairah. The upcoming pipeline includes more than 1.57 GW of IT capacity, equivalent to more than 3.5 times the current operational base cited in the portfolio.

DATA CENTERS IN UAE - MARKET AT A GLANCE

1. 38 existing facilities: The portfolio covers operational data centers across five UAE cities.
2. 23 upcoming facilities: The development pipeline adds more than 1.57 GW of IT capacity.
3. Dubai: Dubai accounts for nearly 40% of the country's operational IT capacity and more than 80% of planned capacity additions, according to the portfolio.
4. Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi accounts for nearly 59% of operational IT capacity and remains a major digital infrastructure hub.
5. Top Data Center operators: Khazna Data Centers, Gulf Data Hub, and Pure Data Centres form a significant part of the UAE's operational capacity landscape.

DATA CENTER FACILITY INTELLIGENCE

Detailed information across UAE existing and upcoming facilities: The portfolio goes beyond a basic list of data centers by tracking the physical infrastructure, capacity, operational characteristics, investment, development status, and commercial information of individual facilities.

For existing facilities, the database captures location, address, operator/owner, facility name, white-floor area, IT load capacity, rack capacity, year of operation, Tier standard, and power/cooling redundancy.

For upcoming projects, it captures investor, location, planned area, power capacity, total investment, infrastructure investment split, announcement year, project status, and expected year of opening.

This facility-level structure enables assessment of the UAE market from both an operational asset and future development pipeline perspective.

EXISTING DATA CENTERS IN UAE

Operational facilities with capacity and infrastructure details: The existing facility database provides detailed information on 38 operational data centers, enabling users to compare facility scale, capacity, physical infrastructure, location, design standards, and operating characteristics.

EXISTING FACILITY DATA POINTS

1. Region, city, and facility location
2. Full facility address
3. Operator/owner name
4. Data center/facility name
5. Core & shell white-floor area
6. Core & shell IT load capacity
7. Rack capacity
8. Year of operation
9. Tier I–IV design standard
10. Power redundancy
11. Cooling/mechanical redundancy

These fields provide a consistent basis for comparing facility footprint, IT power, rack capacity, design standards, and infrastructure resiliency.

UPCOMING DATA CENTER PROJECTS IN UAE

Track future capacity, investment, and development status: The upcoming project database provides visibility into the UAE's expanding data center pipeline, covering projects from announcement and planning through construction and expected operation.

UPCOMING FACILITY DATA POINTS

1. Investor name
2. Region, city, and project location
3. Planned white-floor area
4. Planned IT load/power capacity
5. Total investment
6. Electrical infrastructure investment
7. Mechanical infrastructure investment
8. General construction investment
9. Announcement year
10. Project status
11. Active or expected year of opening

Track who is investing, where capacity is being developed, project scale, capital requirements, and expected development timelines.

DATA CENTER OPERATORS & CLOUD PROVIDERS IN UAE

The database covers 13 operators and investors active in the UAE, from the market's capacity leaders to telecom-backed platforms, global colocation names and specialist providers.

1. Capacity leaders: Khazna Data Centers, Gulf Data Hub, Pure Data Centres
2. Telecom-backed and sovereign platforms: Etisalat, Du, Injazat (Core42), Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)
3. Global colocation platforms: Equinix, eHosting DataFort
4. Specialist and regional operators: Datacenter Vaults, Morohub, PacificControls, XDS Data Center

FULL LIST OF DATA CENTER INVESTORS/OPERATORS COVERED IN THE UAE DATA CENTERS

Datacenter Vaults,Du, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), eHosting DataFort, Equinix, Etisalat, Gulf Data Hub, Injazat (Core42), Khazna Data Centers, Morohub, PacificControls, Pure Data Centers, XDS Data Center.

UAE DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT PIPELINE

The UAE's upcoming data center pipeline includes 23 facilities with more than 1.57 GW of planned IT capacity. Dubai accounts for more than 80% of planned capacity additions, while Abu Dhabi continues to represent a major concentration of operational infrastructure.

The pipeline provides visibility into the next wave of capacity additions and allows users to assess projects based on location, planned power, white-floor area, investment, status, and expected opening year.

GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE ACROSS UAE

The portfolio covers 5 key UAE cities, providing facility-level visibility across the country's established and emerging data center locations.

LOCATIONS COVERED

Dubai | Abu Dhabi | Sharjah | Al Ain | Fujairah

The geographic coverage supports analysis of:

1. Existing data center clusters
2. Upcoming development locations
3. Operator expansion patterns
4. Regional capacity distribution
5. Project investment activity
6. Location-level competitive intelligence

DATA CENTER CAPACITY & INFRASTRUCTURE

Facility count alone does not capture the scale of the UAE data center market. The portfolio tracks key facility-level capacity indicators, including:

1. White-Floor Area: Measures the physical IT space available or planned at individual facilities.
2. IT Load Capacity: Compares current operational and planned IT power capacity in MW.
3. Rack Capacity: Assesses rack deployment and facility-level infrastructure scale where available.

The database also distinguishes between current IT load capacity and future capacity additions, supporting analysis of the UAE's existing infrastructure and development pipeline.

DATA CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE & RESILIENCY

For existing facilities, the database captures infrastructure and resiliency characteristics that help differentiate data centers based on their design and operational requirements.

Coverage includes:

1. Tier I–IV classification
2. Electrical/power redundancy
3. Mechanical/cooling redundancy
4. IT load capacity
5. Rack capacity
6. White-floor area
7. Year of operation

Compare facilities based on capacity, infrastructure configuration, design standards, and redundancy characteristics.

UAE DATA CENTER COLOCATION PRICING

The portfolio includes colocation pricing alongside facility and infrastructure information, enabling users to assess commercial conditions across the UAE market.

Coverage includes:

1. Quarter rack / 1⁄4 rack pricing
2. Half rack cabinet pricing
3. Full rack cabinet pricing
4. Full cabinet configurations such as 42U / 45U / 47U
5. Wholesale colocation pricing per kW

At the broader market level, wholesale colocation is expected to account for more than 91% of UAE colocation revenue by 2031, compared with approximately 73% in 2025.

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH THE UAE DATA CENTER PORTFOLIO?

1. Identify existing facilities: Build a structured list of operational data centers by city, operator, capacity, and infrastructure.
2. Track upcoming projects: Monitor announced, planned, and under-construction facilities.
3. Compare operators: Benchmark operators by facility footprint, IT capacity, rack capacity, and geographic presence.
4. Map new investment: Identify where new capital is being directed and which organizations are expanding.
5. Assess market capacity: Compare existing and upcoming white-floor area, IT load, and rack capacity.
6. Evaluate locations: Compare data center infrastructure across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain, and Fujairah.
7. Benchmark colocation: Compare retail and wholesale pricing across the UAE market.
8. Support market entry: Identify relevant operators, investors, locations, projects, and competitive opportunities.

UAE DATA CENTERS EXCEL DATABASE PORTFOLIO - SUMMARY

1. Existing Data Centers: 38 facilities with location, address, operator/owner, facility name, white-floor area, IT load, rack capacity, year of operation, Tier standard, and redundancy information.
2. Upcoming Data Centers: 23 facilities with investor, location, planned area, IT capacity, investment, infrastructure investment split, announcement year, project status, and expected opening year.
3. Capacity & Commercial Intelligence: The database includes existing and upcoming white-floor space, current IT load capacity, future capacity additions, retail colocation pricing, and wholesale pricing per kW.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1. Primary sources: data center contractors and subcontractors, system integrators (power, cooling, physical security, fire suppression), developers and infrastructure providers.
2. Secondary sources: Arizton monitors 500+ colocation operators across about 50 countries through press releases, annual reports, investor presentations, industry reports, and news.
3. Clean counting: phase-wise expansions sit in existing facilities. Ground-up builds sit in upcoming. Campuses count only operational buildings. Capacity colocated inside another provider's facility is not double-counted.
4. Actual and estimated values: investment figures blend reported and estimated values, with estimates based on the average data center build cost in the UAE.