- inD brings global event with 40 years of heritage to Abu Dhabi on 17-18 November
- Two federal ministries feature alongside Khazna Data Centers, Core42 and Tabreed, hyperscalers AWS, Google and Oracle, and NVIDIA
- Omdia estimates the Middle East added 1GW of new IT capacity in 2025, with data centre IT capacity compounding at almost 25% a year
Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 2026: Data Center World, the premier global event for data centre IT infrastructure and innovation for more than four decades, will hold its first Middle East edition in the UAE capital, bringing together the people who build, power, finance and regulate the region’s AI infrastructure.
Building on the success of it’s flagship US conference, Data Center World Middle East, running from 17-18 November, follows the launch of events inAustralia, Latin America and Europe in 2026, reflecting rising global demand for digital infrastructuredriven by AI adoption, cloud growth and surging data consumption.
Organised by inD – an Informa/DWTC company – the event puts delegates in the same room as the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, the UAE Ministry of Investment and the companies building and running Gulf capacity, including Khazna Data Centers, Core42 and Tabreed. Hyperscalers AWS, Google and Oracle, and AI computing leader NVIDIA, complete a line-up that pairing senior industry voices with deep technical expertise.
The event at the Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi coincides with a sharp rise in regional capacity. Omdia, the technology research and advisory group within Informa TechTarget, identifies the Middle East as the world’s next data centre hot spot. It estimates the region added 1GW of new IT capacity in 2025, with data centre IT capacity compounding at almost 25% a year.
Efficiency is also becoming a priority as capacity scales. The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and Khazna Data Centers have launched a pilot to cut energy use in data centers and district cooling systems, with the technology claimed to reduce cooling-related consumption by up to 40%.
Eng. Mozah Alnuaimi, Chief AI Officer, UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, a speaker on the opening panel, said: “Every megawatt saved in cooling is a megawatt of compute the grid does not have to build for. In our climate, water efficiency and energy efficiency are the same discipline: liquid cooling, closed-loop systems, and clear intensity requirements. Through the Global Cooling Pledge and the Ministry’s planning tools, we are treating data centres as a national efficiency opportunity, not only a load, so growth in AI strengthens the system rather than strains it.”
The UAE is at the centre of that growth aiming to double the digital economy’s contribution to GDP, from 9.7% to 19.4%, within a decade. In Abu Dhabi, the Department of Government Enablement’s AED 13 billion digital strategy targets full migration to sovereign cloud on the way to an AI-native government by 2027, supported by a Unified Government Data Centre. Khazna, meanwhile, is building G42’s 1GW Stargate UAE cluster with partners including OpenAI, Oracle, NVIDIA, Cisco and SoftBank.
Sean James, Distinguished Engineer – Energy Systems, NVIDIA, said: “AI load does not behave like the load utilities planned for. I watched other markets pay for that lesson. Hundreds of megawatts moving in seconds is a power quality problem before it is a capacity problem. Solve it inside your own fence, with storage and controls. The same batteries that smooth your load can hand the utility ride-through and voltage support back. Then the interconnection conversation shifts from whether to when.”
Tara Gibb, Senior Event Director for Data Center World, said: “Data Center World goes where the industry is building, and the Gulf is now one of its most important growth markets. For the first time in the region, the operators building Gulf capacity, the hyperscalers and two federal ministries share one programme. The programme moves from market outlook to closed-door technical workshops, so delegates leave with clear priorities and the right contacts to move their projects forward.”
Day one opens with a panel on the risks and realities of the Gulf’s 3GW target for AI, power and sovereign demand. A Market Outlook 2030 session will assess where growth is most investable across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain.
The programme runs across keynote, conference and technical tracks, with closed-door workshops on AI hall design, cooling and electrical design for AI loads, built for people running data centres in 50°C conditions
The headline sponsor is Midea Building Technologies, the building and data centre cooling division of Midea Group, with Marwan AlObaidi, Regional Director – Data Centers & Applied Systems, among the speakers. Enover and E-kerno are Gold Sponsors with Endress+Hauser as Silver Sponsors
About Data Center World Middle East:
Data Center World Middle East 2026 is the inaugural regional edition of Data Center World, the global event series for data centre and IT infrastructure professionals. Organised by inD, it brings the data centre value chain together to shape AI-ready infrastructure across the Gulf and wider MENA region. The event takes place on 17–18 November 2026 at Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi.
About Data Center World:
Data Center World is the leading global conference for data centre facilities and IT professionals, delivering premier education, expansive networking, and the widest access to best-in-class vendors. For more than 40 years, the event has helped data centre and IT infrastructure leaders navigate an increasingly complex and AI-driven landscape. The event provides top-quality, vendor-neutral insights that empower professionals to solve real-world challenges.
About inD:
inD is a leading B2B Live Events Group in South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. With a portfolio of more than 40 major B2B brands, inD serves a range of high-growth market categories including Healthcare, Energy, Aviation, Food, Technology, Information Security, HR and Education. Headquartered in Dubai, with more than 1,000 Colleagues across the region, inD is a partnership between the Informa Group PLC, the world’s leading B2B Live Events Group, and DWTC, the region’s leading business enabler and global events powerhouse. As a subsidiary of Informa PLC, a publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange, inD combines international scale and expertise with leadership in large-scale B2B event intellectual property to deliver world-class events that spark innovation, stimulate trade and drive economic growth.
