AI Workloads Force a Fundamental Redesign of Middle East Datacentres
AI workloads are prompting a fundamental redesign of Middle East data centres, shifting from legacy digital architectures to AI‑centric designs. Huawei’s SuperPoD solution, announced at MWC 2026, delivers up to 96.6% UPS efficiency and a 25% smaller footprint to meet soaring GPU density and cooling demands. Regional sovereign AI initiatives under Saudi Vision 2030, UAE Vision 2023 and Qatar National Vision 2030 are driving massive investment, while talent shortages are being addressed through extensive ICT Academy programs. The next phase focuses on hyperscale expansion, liquid cooling, renewable integration, and Arabic‑language model localisation.
Microsoft CEO Opens London AI Tour with Copilot Push
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella opened the London AI Tour by showcasing the company’s push into agentic AI across its productivity suite. He highlighted how Excel and PowerPoint now feature an Agent Mode that can generate code and insights from a single...
Where MENA CIOs Draw the Line on AI Sovereignty
MENA CIOs are drawing firm lines around AI sovereignty, keeping regulated workloads—such as patient data, identity systems, and core financial transactions—on sovereign or on‑premise infrastructure while leveraging hyperscalers for development, testing, and non‑sensitive analytics. The hybrid approach reflects regional regulatory...
Pure Storage Rebrands to Everpure as Storage Maker’s Business Expands Focus to Data Management
Pure Storage announced it will rebrand as Everpure, signaling a strategic shift from pure flash storage hardware to broader data management services. The change aligns with the rollout of its Enterprise Data Cloud platform, which bundles storage, monitoring, and governance...
Gartner: Why Neoclouds Are the Future of GPU-as-a-Service
Gartner predicts neoclouds—purpose‑built providers for GPU‑intensive AI—will capture about 20% of the $267 bn AI cloud market by 2030. These specialists deliver bare‑metal GPU performance, rapid provisioning and consumption‑based pricing that can cut costs 60‑70% versus hyperscaler instances. Rather than replacing...
Interview: Ankur Anand, Group CIO, Nash Squared
Ankur Anand, group CIO of Nash Squared, is reshaping the recruiter’s technology agenda to turn data and AI into competitive advantages. He merged day‑to‑day IT operations with a growth‑focused digital strategy, integrating disparate systems to create a single candidate view. Anand...
ICO Wins Appeal over Data Protection Obligations in Currys Cyber Attack
The UK Court of Appeal upheld the Information Commissioner’s Office decision to fine Currys Group Ltd (formerly DSG Retail) £500,000 for failing to protect personal data after a 2017‑18 cyber‑attack. The ruling confirms that organisations must safeguard all personal data,...
Bank of Ireland UK Fined for Late Security System Implementation
The UK arm of Bank of Ireland was fined £3.78 million by the Payments Systems Regulator for a 14‑month delay in deploying the Confirmation of Payee (CoP) system. The lapse left 1.14 million new payees and roughly £7 million in payments without fraud‑prevention...
Neom Partners with DataVolt on $5bn Hyperscale Datacentre Project for Digital Infrastructure
Neom has signed a landmark $5 billion agreement with Saudi‑based DataVolt to build the Kingdom’s first green‑AI hyperscale data centre in Oxagon. The facility will operate at net‑zero, powered entirely by renewable energy and equipped with advanced cooling to support generative...