Data Center World Middle East
About the Event
Data Center World Middle East is a two-day conference and exposition organised by AFCOM and Informa, held 17–18 November 2026 at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The event is the first Middle East edition of the Data Center World global series, which has run in North America for over 40 years. It brings together data center operators, hyperscalers, utilities, investors, and policymakers to address infrastructure, power, cooling, and operational challenges specific to the Gulf region. The Middle East data center market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 14.92% through 2030, reaching $19.89 billion, with $30 billion in planned investment by 2030 across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain.
Programming Focus
The agenda runs across four streams — Keynotes, Conference Agenda, Technical Agenda, and Industry Workshops — and covers:
- AI infrastructure and high-density compute: designing and deploying for AI workloads and HPC
- Design, build, and capacity delivery: rapid expansion strategies and construction optimisation
- Operations, optimisation, and retrofit: managing legacy facilities alongside high-density deployments
- Hyperscale, colocation, and cloud architecture: business models for large-scale deployments in the Gulf
- Power, cooling, and resource efficiency: renewable integration, behind-the-meter microgrids, and liquid cooling in extreme ambient conditions
- Critical infrastructure security: physical and cybersecurity for mission-critical facilities
- Market outlook sessions: Gulf MW pipeline, power-access realities, and country-by-country assessments through 2030
- Closed-door industry workshops on topics including AI hall design, liquid cooling design review, electrical design for AI loads, and government-grade sovereign cloud infrastructure
Featured Speakers
- Latifa Alshehhi — Chief AI Officer, UAE Ministry of Investment
- Rama Alsheikh — Government Affairs and Public Policy Consultant, Google Cloud
- Abdulrahman Khalid Almazroa — Director of Cybersecurity, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare
- Mohammed Yousuff — Senior Data Center Engineer, AWS
- Aida Elbouanani — Business Development Director MEA Liquid Cooling, BP Castrol
- Bahaa Al Janabi — Founder and Director, Alba DC Hub
- Remy Moussa — Chair, ASHRAE YEA and DEI Committee
- Scott Roots — VP Sales EMEA, DC Byte
Who Should Attend
- Data center operators and facility managers in the Gulf and broader MENA region
- Hyperscaler and cloud infrastructure teams expanding into the Middle East
- Utilities, power providers, and renewable energy developers
- Investors and real estate professionals focused on Gulf digital infrastructure
- Government and regulatory representatives involved in sovereign AI and digital economy planning
- Technology vendors and solution providers targeting the Middle East market
- Engineers and construction professionals working on AI-ready and high-density builds
Logistics
The event runs two full days, 17–18 November 2026, at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Abu Dhabi. Registration and sponsorship inquiries can be directed to MEenquiries@informa.com or +971 55 176 0524. A brochure is available for download on the event website.