UAE operator Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du) has announced a major hyperscale data centre deal with Microsoft.
The hyperscale data centre to be built and operated at a cost of around 2 billion dirhams (about US$544.54), will have Microsoft as the main tenant and, says du, its capacity will be delivered in tranches.
According to Reuters, the deal, agreed during Dubai AI Week, a week-long event across Dubai dedicated to driving global AI innovation, was described by Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO of du, as “a pivotal leap in our strategic goal to revolutionise the digital ecosystem of the UAE".
So far, however, there appear to be no technical details, sustainability information or timescale for what is expected to be a vast and expensive facility designed to deliver large-scale data storage and cloud computing services to enterprise customers.
Currently, according to Reuters, du operates five data centres across the UAE, which, the news service adds, has been heavily investing to become a global hub for AI outside of the US.
This is the latest in a number of recent announcements from du involving Microsoft. In mid-March du announced the internal launch of AI assistant Microsoft 365 Copilot in a move to empower du employees with state-of-the-art AI tools designed to foster better collaboration, streamline processes, and boost overall efficiency.
An earlier collaboration – announced during Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 – will see Microsoft Azure’s innovative security stack integrate with du Tech’s robust managed services to offer businesses a comprehensive 360-degree security solution within the UAE, aimed at thwarting cyberthreats effectively.
Also at MWC came news of an innovative du collaboration with Microsoft aimed at enhancing call centre operations through advanced AI technologies.
