Plenary Sessions
Eligibility*
Your organisation is an enterprise with active data centre requirements, or an energy network operator (TSO/DSO) driving smart energy infrastructure initiatives.
You are directly engaged, as a management or technical professional, in areas such as:
Planning and strategy
Systems design and architecture
Sourcing, purchasing, or procurement
Technology adoption and implementation
Integration and operations of IT, data centre, or cloud environments
Welcome to the Cloud & Datacenter Convention 2026 (Riyadh), the Kingdom’s foremost gathering shaping the future of its digital economy.
This flagship convention brings together hyperscalers, colocation leaders, enterprise CIOs, telecom experts, energy and cooling specialists, real estate developers, and key government stakeholders, all converging to accelerate Kingdom’s rapidly expanding digital infrastructure landscape.
The 2026 edition explores the pillars transforming the Kingdom’s cloud and data center ecosystem, including cloud-native modernization, AI-optimized data architectures, breakthroughs in sustainable power and cooling, the rise of nationwide edge deployments, advanced cloud cybersecurity frameworks, and sovereign data strategies aligned with Kingdom’s Vision 2030 digital objectives.
The momentum of this region is unmatched: according to Arizton Advisory & Intelligence, the Kingdom’s data center market is projected to surge from $1.33 billion in 2024 to $3.90 billion by 2030, growing at a 19.65% CAGR. Power capacity is expected to reach 183 MW, while colocation revenue climbs toward $860 million, driven by hyperscaler expansion and giga-projects such as NEOM and The Line powering unprecedented digital demand.
This year’s convention features thought-leadership keynotes, executive panels, industry showcases, and strategic discussions addressing policy challenges, investment pathways, and the partnerships required to position this Kingdom as MENA’s leading digital hub. For leaders building the next generation of cloud, AI, connectivity, and green digital infrastructure, the Cloud & Datacenter Convention 2026 (Riyadh) is the premier forum where the Kingdom’s digital roadmap for the next decade takes shape.
Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as not just a consumer of AI technologies, but also as a global producer of AI capability. Anchored in Saudi Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s next frontier lies in building AI factories: large-scale, sovereign AI ecosystems that integrate advanced computing infrastructure, high-value datasets, research talent, industrial partnerships, and sustainable energy systems.
The panel will examine global benchmarks while highlighting Saudi Arabia’s unique advantages—strategic geography bridging three continents, strong capital deployment capacity, and ambitious national transformation goals.
Saudi Arabia is rapidly emerging as a regional hub for cloud services and datacenter infrastructure, driven by Vision 2030’s digital transformation initiatives and growing enterprise demand. This session explores the investment opportunities in the Kingdom’s cloud and datacenter ecosystem, highlighting areas of high growth, strategic partnerships with hyperscalers, and government incentives for infrastructure development. Attendees will gain insights into market trends, financial considerations, and practical strategies to capitalize on Saudi Arabia’s evolving digital economy while supporting scalable, sustainable technology growth.
The Kingdom is rapidly transforming its economy through digitalization, innovation, and smart infrastructure initiatives. Hyperscale cloud providers play a pivotal role in enabling this transformation by offering scalable computing, storage, AI, and analytics services. This session will explore how hyperscalers are supporting the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 digital objectives, fostering innovation, enabling startups, and enhancing government and enterprise digital capabilities.
As Saudi Arabia accelerates its journey toward a digital and AI-driven economy, high-performance GPU infrastructure has become essential to support large-scale AI workloads. This session explores how to design GPU-optimized datacenters tailored for the Kingdom’s unique technological, environmental, and regulatory landscape. Attendees will gain insights into architectural best practices, energy-efficient cooling strategies, and GPU orchestration for AI training and inference. Real-world applications will highlight how GPU datacenters can power innovations in healthcare, smart cities, energy, and government services.
As Saudi Arabia embraces AI to drive innovation across government, healthcare, energy, and smart cities, securing AI workloads and sensitive national data has become a strategic imperative. This session examines the challenges and solutions for protecting AI systems, ensuring data sovereignty, and maintaining regulatory compliance within the Kingdom. Experts will discuss best practices for secure AI deployment, from data encryption and access controls to secure cloud architectures and AI model integrity, highlighting the unique considerations of Saudi Arabia’s digital ecosystem.
As Saudi Arabia accelerates its digital transformation and AI adoption, datacenter sustainability has become a critical priority. Traditional water-based cooling methods are increasingly impractical in the Kingdom’s arid climate, making waterless cooling and energy-efficient design essential for the next generation of high-performance computing infrastructure. This session explores innovative approaches to building sustainable datacenters, including air-based and immersion cooling technologies, energy optimization strategies, and renewable integration. Attendees will gain actionable insights on reducing operational costs, minimizing environmental impact, and scaling infrastructure to support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 digital ambitions.
As Saudi Arabia accelerates its AI ambitions under Vision 2030, large-scale AI datacenters are critical to powering advanced workloads, from machine learning and deep learning to real-time analytics. This session explores strategies for deploying and scaling high-performance AI infrastructure, including GPU optimization, energy efficiency, waterless cooling, and secure data management. Attendees will gain practical insights into designing, implementing, and operating AI datacenters capable of supporting the Kingdom’s growing AI ecosystem.
