Zoom Communications has launched its second data center in Saudi Arabia, marking a significant step in the company's expansion of its regional footprint and commitment to local data residency requirements. The inauguration ceremony took place on Monday at the Bab Samhan Hotel in Diriyah, attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Investment, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Misk Foundation, and Zoom executives.
New Facility Enhances Local Services
Mohannad Al-Kalash, Zoom Communications' vice president for the Middle East, Turkey, Africa, and Pakistan, stated that the new facility enables the company to deliver its services directly from within the Kingdom. “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.”
The data center is located in center3, a Saudi-headquartered provider of carrier-neutral data centers and subsea cable systems connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa. This investment builds on Zoom's broader commitment to the Kingdom, including a $75 million pledge last year focused on innovation enabled by artificial intelligence, particularly as Saudi Arabia designates 2026 as the Year of AI.
Supporting Regional Growth
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 over 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.
Enhanced Capabilities and Strategic Alignment
The new data center is expected to provide businesses and organizations with enhanced data residency, security, and compliance capabilities. It reflects increasing investment in cloud infrastructure within the Kingdom, as global technology companies establish local operations to meet growing demand for digital services. This initiative supports Saudi Arabia's ambitions to become a regional technology powerhouse.
