Zoom Communications launched its second data center in Saudi Arabia on Monday as part of the video conferencing giant’s aim to expand its regional footprint and meet local data residency requirements amid a growing appetite for digital innovation.
The inauguration ceremony took place at Bab Samhan Hotel in Diriyah and was attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Investment, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Misk Foundation, and Zoom executives.
Mohannad Al-Kalash, Zoom Communications’ vice president for the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa and Pakistan, told Arab News the new facility would enable the company to deliver its services directly from within the Kingdom.
Speaking to Arab News, Mohannad Alkalash, Vice President for the Middle East, Türkiye, Africa and Pakistan (METAP) at Zoom Communications, said the new facility will enable the company to deliver its services directly from within the Kingdom. (AN/Jaafar Saleh)
“We are now offering our services, including Unified Communications as a Service and Contact Center as a Service, hosted locally and delivered from the heart of Saudi Arabia,” he said. “This allows us to better serve our customers while meeting local data residency requirements.”
Located in center3, a Saudi‑headquartered provider of carrier‑neutral data centers and subsea cable systems connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa, establishing the data center builds on Zoom’s broader investment in the Kingdom.
Last year, Zoom pledged $75 million to Saudi Arabia with a strategic focus on innovation enabled by artificial intelligence and the advanced infrastructure required to scale it, particularly as the nation designates 2026 as the Year of AI.
The inauguration ceremony took place at Bab Samhan Hotel in Diriyah and was attended by senior government officials. (AN/Jaafar Saleh)
The new facility will support Zoom’s growing customer base across the Kingdom and the wider region, providing organizations with access to cloud-based communication and collaboration tools through locally hosted infrastructure.
“Zoom serves more than 350 million users globally every day,” said Al-Kalash. “Through this data center, we are strengthening our ability to support customers in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East. We look forward to expanding further and continuing to earn the trust of our customers every day.”
With more than two decades of experience in infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud services and enterprise technology, Al-Kalash leads Zoom’s operations across the METAP region from the company’s Riyadh office.
The launch builds on an existing regional data center established in 2023 in collaboration with Aramco and aligns with Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation goals under Vision 2030.
The new facility is expected to provide businesses and organizations with enhanced data residency, security and compliance capabilities.
It also reflects increasing investment in cloud infrastructure within the kingdom, as global technology companies establish local operations to meet growing demand for digital services, and supports the Kingdom’s ambitions to become a regional technology powerhouse.
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