Oracle has announced a major expansion of its investment in Abu Dhabi, increasing its commitment fivefold to meet the rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services in the UAE. Nick Redshaw, Oracle’s senior vice president for technology cloud and UAE country leader, shared the news during Oracle CloudWorld in Dubai, according to The National.

Currently, Oracle operates two cloud regions in the UAE, located in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. With the UAE’s focus on building a future-ready digital economy, driven by increasing government initiatives and a growing tech-savvy youth population, demand for AI and cloud services in the region has surged.

The Middle East has become a hotspot for global tech giants, with companies like Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and Alibaba Cloud also establishing data centres in the region. Oracle has 11 active cloud regions across the Middle East and Africa, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa, with plans to launch 14 more soon.

In addition to its UAE expansion, Oracle is working with Bahrain’s Beyon Solutions to launch a sovereign cloud region in Bahrain. Sovereign cloud systems allow governments and public sector organisations to host data within their borders, ensuring security, privacy, and compliance with local regulations.

Redshaw noted that data security and sovereignty are top concerns for governments worldwide, explaining that sovereign cloud capabilities are now critical to national security. “Every government is concerned about data security, cyber security and everything else,” he told *The National*.

Within the UAE, telecom provider du is already using Oracle’s cloud infrastructure to offer AI-powered sovereign services to governments in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

As part of its regional plans, Oracle will also train and certify 350,000 individuals across several Middle Eastern countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. This initiative, delivered via Oracle University’s online platform, aims to address the growing demand for cloud and AI expertise.

The tech giant’s expansion comes as other major initiatives in the UAE, such as Khazna Data Centres’ new 100-megawatt facility in Ajman, highlight the region’s commitment to becoming a global technology hub. Meanwhile, private equity firm KKR recently announced a $5 billion investment in Dubai-based Gulf Data Hub to boost regional data centre infrastructure.

Oracle’s ambitious plans underline the region’s growing role in the global tech landscape, as businesses and governments alike embrace cloud and AI solutions to power their future.