Qatar and the UAE have introduced new sovereign cloud services through separate initiatives by Ooredoo and du, offering locally hosted alternatives to international cloud providers, as reported by Developing Telecoms.
Ooredoo has launched sovereign AI cloud services powered by Nvidia’s latest Hopper GPUs and hosted within its own data centres. As an Nvidia Cloud Partner (NCP), Ooredoo said its platform provides customers with access to Nvidia’s GPU technology and the complete Nvidia AI Enterprise software suite for AI development.
Ooredoo stated that its platform allows local teams to leverage advanced tools securely hosted in its data centres, supporting applications such as developing AI chatbots, optimising supply chains, and conducting real-time financial analysis.
The company added that its AI cloud service is expected to drive AI adoption across Qatar’s key industries, including energy, finance, logistics, healthcare, and smart cities by providing high-performance computing infrastructure locally, reducing dependence on international providers.
“Our collaboration with Nvidia paves the way for a new generation of innovation, empowering everyone from startups to government entities to benefit from the full potential of artificial intelligence, securely and efficiently,” Ooredoo Qatar CEO Sheikh Ali Bin Jabor Al-Thani said in a statement.
Du launches National Hypercloud on Oracle Alloy
On the same day in the UAE, du expanded its cloud services by launching its sovereign cloud platform, the “du Tech National Hypercloud,” in collaboration with Oracle.
Operating from du’s data centres in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, the platform is built on Oracle’s Alloy cloud infrastructure and offers access to more than 150 Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) services, covering infrastructure, platform, and applications, all integrated with AI capabilities.
Jasim AlAwadi, Chief ICT Officer at du, said the new hypercloud platform is designed to enable rapid innovation within a sovereign AI environment, offering scalability and addressing the specific requirements of UAE government entities and large organisations. He noted that it combines the flexibility of public cloud services with assurances of data sovereignty and customised security measures.
“Our infrastructure serves as a bastion of sovereignty and security, while also enabling financial savviness and technological advancement necessary for the UAE’s pursuit of becoming a pioneering AI-utilizing nation,” he said in a statement.
“Governments want to leverage the benefits of cloud and innovate with AI at scale, within a sovereign environment. Achieving this requires flexible deployment models”, said Miguel Vega, senior VP of database platform and cloud infrastructure for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa region at Oracle. “With the deployment of Oracle Alloy, du has introduced National Hypercloud, a capability that will help meet the sovereign requirements of government organisations in the UAE whilst supporting alignment with the local regulatory requirements.”
