While much of the global data centre conversation continues to focus on scale, Dubai is taking a more structural approach: building infrastructure designed to support cross-border data flows, evolving workloads, and regional regulatory complexity. The emphasis is increasingly on the systems, locations and policies that make the scale sustainable and lucrative over the long term.
In a recent episode of Live, Work & Play in Dubai, Priyanka Nagpal, Director and Data Centre Lead \u2013 Consulting (Middle East & Africa) at JLL, unpacks the shift from \u201chow big\u201d to \u201chow well-designed\u201d. From her vantage point, where she advises hyperscalers and sovereign-backed investors, Nagpal explains that Dubai\u2019s data centre economy is being shaped less by marquee megawatt numbers and more by infrastructure design, policy alignment and regional connectivity.<\/p>\n
Watch the video episode here: These changes have implications well beyond server racks. \u201cThis changes the entire design architecture of a data centre where you have hybrid cooling, you have liquid cooling integration and everything coming in,\u201d she adds. Sustainability and energy efficiency are now central considerations. \u201cAlong with this comes energy conservation because carbon neutrality is a big, big, big challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n Dubai\u2019s broader renewable energy push, including initiatives such as the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, aligns with this shift towards greener digital infrastructure.<\/p>\n Crucially, this evolution is opening up opportunities beyond hyperscalers and sovereign players. For startups and solution providers, including those from India, the growth story increasingly sits in ancillary infrastructure. \u201cWhat I see growing per se is the dynamics that\u2026 the designs for data centers are completely changing,\u201d Nagpal says. \u201cThere are a lot of cooling requirements that the data center needs and these cooling demands and needs are also changing.\u201d<\/p>\n As a result, \u201cwe do see quite a lot of activity in this sort of ancillary infrastructure investment where you\u2019re looking at different cooling techniques or partnerships around it.\u201d In Dubai\u2019s operating environment\u2014where heat, dust and air quality directly affect uptime and efficiency\u2014this extends beyond conventional cooling design. As Nagpal notes, \u201cWhen I talk about sand, I\u2019m not talking about aesthetics,\u201d she clarifies. \u201cIt is more on land or the sand filtrations or the air filtration systems that go into the data centres.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond infrastructure and policy, Nagpal\u2019s experience also points to a broader shift in leadership norms within Dubai\u2019s technology sectors. Speaking about women in data and infrastructure, she describes a market where credibility is increasingly anchored in capability rather than the perception of conventional gendered roles.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I have been very fortunate because I believe in the region also there is a lot of acceptability,\u201d she says. \u201cWhat worked for me personally is that competence gets acknowledged very well in the region. And when that is the key driving factor, the gender suddenly does not become a barrier because you\u2019re being judged purely on your competence.\u201d<\/p>\n Nagpal adds that this environment is reinforced by institutional support. \u201cI find it really very friendly with a lot of government-led initiatives also in the data centre space for women\u2014largely around STEM education,\u201d she notes, pointing to growing board-level representation. \u201cSo, this is largely going to be gender-neutral, driven by competence.\u201d<\/p>\n As regional data demand accelerates, Dubai\u2019s data centre economy is being shaped not by speed alone, but by deliberate choices around infrastructure, regulation, and geography that are quietly building the systems that will power the region\u2019s digital future.<\/p>\n
<\/strong> \u201cWhen we talk about Dubai, people would think we are talking about huge buildings of data centers filled with servers and cooling, but that is not how it is,\u201d Nagpal says. \u201cI think it\u2019s a game of chess that you\u2019re playing\u2026 where you\u2019re looking into regulating cable landing points.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"ET](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/118783427.cms.png\")
Live EventsThat strategic thinking begins with geography. Dubai\u2019s connectivity through cable landing stations links Europe, Africa, and Asia, positioning the city as a digital junction for the wider region. \u201cDubai is connected through cable landing stations to Europe, it\u2019s connected to Africa, it\u2019s connected to Asia,\u201d Nagpal notes. \u201cThat is a geographical or strategic positioning of Dubai as a market which facilitates or drives the key growth for the region.\u201d
This central positioning becomes increasingly relevant as data sovereignty rises in importance across neighbouring markets. According to Nagpal, Dubai\u2019s advantage lies in operating across multiple regulatory frameworks while remaining highly connected. \u201cDubai has been [is] surrounded by different countries facing different data sovereignty laws and it is centrally connected, and it manages these differences very well\u2026 across neighbouring countries,\u201d she explains.
Dubai\u2019s value proposition, Nagpal argues, extends beyond being a host market. \u201cIt\u2019s like a digital bridge that you\u2019re looking at\u2026 connecting all the other neighbouring countries,\u201d she says.
Technology shifts are also redefining how data centres are designed and operated. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) workloads has altered power densities and infrastructure requirements. \u201cWhen we talk about AI data centres, they are very different from traditional data centres,\u201d Nagpal says. \u201cWe were talking about rack densities of 6 kVA [kilovolt-amperes] to 18 kVA, and now suddenly we talk about high rack densities\u2026 250 kVA upwards.\u201d<\/p>\n