Abu Dhabi media office
- 40 government entities involved
- Integration of global providers
- Cloud migration office planned
Abu Dhabi has issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) to develop a unified data centre, a critical part of its plan to consolidate digital infrastructure across more than 40 government entities in the UAE capital.
A unified data centre is a centralised facility that securely stores and manages data and applications, serving as the backbone for integrated IT systems and cloud platforms.
The project is intended to replace fragmented infrastructure and cloud environments with a centralised hybrid multi-cloud platform known as ADGOV Cloud.
This platform will integrate global providers such as Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Amazon Web Services with a private, secure government cloud hosted in a third-party data centre.
The RFQ outlines plans for a system that ensures sovereign security controls to safeguard sensitive data while improving scalability and operational resilience. It reflects Abu Dhabi’s efforts to balance local data sovereignty with the flexibility of global cloud technologies.
Gulf states have been investing heavily in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and cybersecurity to diversify their economies and strengthen data sovereignty.
Data centres play a critical role in AI development by providing the massive computational power and data storage required for training and deploying AI models.
Mahesh Jaishankar, senior adviser at the consultancy Arthur D Little, told AGBI this was “a very significant step”, which allowed government agencies to leverage the strengths of multiple cloud providers and create “a more flexible, secure, and efficient IT infrastructure”.
However, he cautioned that managing multi-cloud environments can be complex.
“It would also create the need for more skilled IT capabilities and resources across the agencies,” he said.
Abu Dhabi has also issued a second tender to establish a cloud migration office to oversee the transition of data and applications to the new system.
Both RFQs close on January 20.
Global trend
The push for a centralised, sovereign cloud system also mirrors a global trend, as governments increasingly adopt hybrid cloud models, combining public and private cloud infrastructure, to address growing concerns over data security.
The big driver for data sovereignty, Jaishankar said, was the need to maintain control over sensitive information critical to national security.
“By keeping data within borders and under local jurisdiction, sensitive information can be better protected from threats and exposure,” he said.
“As they say, ‘data is the new oil,’ and access to this national data needs to be safeguarded and protected. Data sovereignty generally allows countries to maintain control over their artificial intelligence destiny by building sovereign AI infrastructures with local providers or instances.”
