Zoho Corp, a leading global technology company, has announced the opening of two Middle East data centres in Saudi Arabia. Located in Jeddah and Riyadh, the two data centres are now fully operational. With this addition, Zoho Corp now has 18 data centres worldwide.
Zoho says the two Saudi facilities ensure local data is stored within the geographical boundaries of the country, in line with personal data protection laws (PDPL) and adds that this investment demonstrates its commitment to data sovereignty and compliance with local regulations while further enhancing service quality and security for its Saudi customers.
The company will also be investing a total of about SAR500 million (US$133.33 million), focusing on digital infrastructure development and strategic partnerships with local government entities. The company has already partnered with Monsha’at, the SME authority in Saudi Arabia. Through the Monsha’at Academy and Thakaa Centre, Zoho Corp says it is digitally upskilling businesses’ workforces to foster tech adoption.
In addition, as part of a long-term strategy set forth in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Zoho Corp has allocated SAR100 million (about US$ 26.7 million) in wallet credits yearly for the next ten years; these can be utilised to access any of its 55 plus cloud-based applications under the Zoho brand and for training.
These partnerships will help ease the adoption of digital technologies for SMEs in Saudi Arabia and promote digital upskilling among local businesses.
Headquartered in Chennai, India, Zoho offers cloud-based business applications. It is the parent company of tech brands ManageEngine, Zoho.com, TrainerCentrel and Qntrl.
Through ManageEngine, the company has helped manage and optimise the IT infrastructure of 2,000 Saudi organisations in government and private sectors.