Brendan Press, CCO of GBI, explains how Qatar's rapidly expanding data centre market, driven by AI and cloud demand, is positioning the country as a global digital hub. Contact online >>
Brendan Press, CCO of GBI, explains how Qatar''s rapidly expanding data centre market, driven by AI and cloud demand, is positioning the country as a global digital hub.
Qatar’s data centre market is expanding rapidly, fuelling significant investment in building new data centres and upgrading existing ones to meet the increasing demand for cloud computing, rising adoption of AI, and IoT applications.
In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) alone, the average monthly data consumption is predicted to reach 53 GB per month in 2028, up from 25 GB in 2022 for storage and data processing through enhanced network infrastructure is needed more than ever. This growth is bolstered by the presence of major tech companies and local enterprises migrating to cloud, driving the demand for more advanced and scalable data centre solutions.
The surge in data consumption is a consequence of the nation’s National Vision 2030. This vision, which aims to transform Qatar into an advanced society capable of sustaining its development and providing a high standard of living for its people, places significant emphasis on information and communication technology infrastructure. Data centres are at the heart of this transformation, driving digital innovation, economic diversification, and enhancing Qatar’s global competitiveness.
Historically, data centres were seen as massive superstructures designed to serve entire countries or regions. However, modern data centres are becoming more localised in how they''re developed, designed to meet the specific needs of cities and their surrounding areas. This localised approach not only enhances data accessibility and speed but also ensures greater resilience and adaptability to local demands. For Qatar, this means its burgeoning cities can develop tailored digital ecosystems that support local businesses, healthcare, education, and government services more efficiently.
The trend toward localised data centres is driven by several factors, including the increasing importance of edge computing and its need for low latency. As cities grow and become more connected, the demand for data processing power at the edge – closer to the final workload – increases. Localised data centres reduce the distance data has to travel, improving response times and supporting applications that require real-time data processing, such as autonomous vehicles, smart grids, and advanced medical diagnostics.
Qatar is an ideal location to house these data centres as it has established a robust legal framework to support its ICT sector. Moreover, Qatar''s abundant sunlight and commitment to renewable energy, particularly solar power, provide a reliable and sustainable energy source, essential for powering the energy-intensive operations of data centres. Recent initiatives, such as the Al Kharsaah solar power plant, expected to produce around 800 MW of power once fully operational, demonstrates the country''s commitment to renewable energy.
Integrating solar power into data centre infrastructure not only offers operational cost benefits but also positions Qatar as a forward-thinking and environmentally responsible location to the wider region. This approach attracts global investors and tech companies looking to establish or expand their data operations in a green and sustainable environment. The operational cost benefits come from reduced reliance on fossil fuels and the stability of energy prices associated with solar power, which can significantly lower the total cost of ownership for data centres.
Qatar’s geographic location at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe also positions it as a vital hub for cable networks. These networks are crucial for global internet connectivity and data transmission, ensuring high-speed and reliable connections essential for modern data centre operations. Cables provide the necessary infrastructure for data exchange across continents, making Qatar a key player in the global data ecosystem.
Beyond the geographical and environmental advantages, Qatar also offers economic and technological incentives. The government has been proactive in fostering a business-friendly environment through various economic policies and infrastructure projects. These efforts include tax incentives, simplified business procedures, and significant investments in high-speed internet infrastructure, which are critical for data centre operations.
As the nation continues to innovate and invest in its digital infrastructure, it is set to become a central hub in the global data landscape. This evolution will not only support the local economy but also attract international businesses seeking a stable, advanced, and eco-friendly environment for their data operations. Qatar is one to watch.
The data center Qatar market is experiencing a particularly thrilling moment, in which multiple factors have aligned to present a booming current context and promising future.
As data centers represent the key physical facilities to contain critical applications and data by companies, they''re becoming increasingly crucial for modern business contexts.
On the one hand, there have been outstanding investments in state-of-the-art infrastructure in recent times. These respond to a growing demand for data storage and processing, owing to the State''s expanding economy: from finance to energy, transportation, and logistics, Qatar''s leading industries generate significant amounts of data that require reliable data center services for storage, processing and analysis.
Additionally, the data center Qatar market has been actively promoted by the Qatari government, who has encouraged digitalization and technology adoption as part of its National Vision 2030 plan. The plan incorporates a series of initiatives to develop a robust digital infrastructure, including data centers that can push the evolution of projects such as smart city initiatives and digital transformation efforts, among others.
On top of this, the data center Qatar market is particularly booming due to its privileged geographical location: the country serves as a gateway between Europe, Asia and Africa, thus represents a strategic location for markets looking for low-latency services. In such a context, it could easily become a hub for regional data center operations.
Specific statistics for the data center Qatar market show that its revenue is projected to reach US$159.60m in 2023, showing an annual growth rate of 4.14% in the period between 2023 and 2027 and thus leading into a US$187.70m market value by 2027.
These figures can also be measured against forecasts targeting the Middle East data center market value as a whole. In this case, Mordor Intelligence predicts the market will ''double its capacity in the upcoming years'', registering a CAGR of 3.15% between 2021 and 2026.
This rise, the report continues, is due to the rapid extension of technological development in the area: from SaaS cloud adoption, to data localization, 5G, IoT, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. This leaves organizations with a need for reliable data center infrastructure that is able to meet a growing demand for data access.
As the Public Works Authority of Qatar devised their new office building, their data center design was met with the need of incorporating a powerful cooling plant. The goal was to introduce a Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system that would act as an emergency cooling source, so that, in case the main structure failed, the low temperatures of the chilled water supply could be maintained.
In fact, their data center involved a Tier 4 Power and Mechanical Infrastructure, that is, one that had redundancy configuration at its core, supporting both the Control Rooms and Data Centres for this key Qatar administration building.
Our mission was thus to design a system that was robust and less prone to failures, as the data center would host mission critical servers and computer systems through a structure of fully redundant subsystems and compartmentalized security zones controlled by biometric access controls methods.
The incorporation of a Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system would then act as a secondary back up for the data center that would start working in case of a main power blackout that would cause downtime in the generator and chillers.
Our work involved a re-design of the Thermal Energy Storage system that was already in place. Through a thorough analysis that considered performance and cost factors, natural stratification emerged as the best alternative for the project, which could deliver 85 to 95% of the stored energy as useful cooling.
The result was a Thermal Energy Storage (TES) tank that consists of a naturally-stratified thermal accumulator in charge of storing chilled water produced during off-peak time (that is, using excess of power generation, which usually coincides with the night, driving chiller performance due to lower temperatures).
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