At the Gulf Data Center Association's Touchdown Middle East Conference 2023 in Bahrain, The Tech Capital interviewed Kamel Al-Tawil, the Managing Director for Middle East & North Africa at Equinix. Al-Tawil provided his views into the digital infrastructure landscape, Equinix's contributions, challenges faced by businesses, the role of data centers, and the future of digital interconnection in the Middle East. When asked about the key trends and drivers observed in the Middle East's digital infrastructure landscape, Al-Tawil highlighted the rapid cloud adoption and the increasing demand for hybrid cloud solutions. He emphasized that major cloud providers are investing to drive wider availability of their services within the region, indicating a significant shift towards cloud-based digital business strategies. Additionally, the growing focus on digital transformation and the surge in data traffic were identified as pivotal drivers shaping the region's digital infrastructure landscape. Al-Tawil shed light on Equinix's contributions to the growth and development of digital infrastructure in the Middle East and North Africa. He emphasized Equinix's role in driving wider availability of cloud services within the region, enabling businesses to leverage hybrid cloud strategies and facilitating seamless digital interconnection. Al-Tawil also highlighted Equinix's commitment to supporting the local communities through employee-driven initiatives that aim to bridge the digital divide and foster digital literacy training in the regions where they operate. In discussing the main challenges faced by businesses and organizations in the region regarding digital infrastructure, Al-Tawil underlined the need for strategic thinking and collaboration to bridge the digital skills gap. He highlighted the underdevelopment of digital infrastructure in Africa as a recognized challenge and emphasized the importance of collaboration between educational institutions, governments, and private businesses to address this issue. Al-Tawil also provided insights into the preparation for the AI wave, emphasizing the need for businesses to strategize and adapt to the accelerating pace of innovation. Al-Tawil provided insights into the role of data centers in supporting the digital economy in the Middle East, emphasizing their significance in enabling seamless digital interconnection, fostering digital transformation, and supporting the increasing data traffic. When questioned about the future of digital interconnection and data exchange in the Middle East, Al-Tawil projected a continued evolution towards seamless and programmatic deployment of digital infrastructure. He highlighted Equinix's expansion plans and its pivotal role in driving this evolution, emphasizing the company's commitment to facilitating digital interconnection and data exchange to meet the evolving needs of the region's digital economy +++ Follow us on: Subscribe: https://thetechcapital.com/register/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thetechcapital_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-tech-capital Instagram: https://instagram.com/thetechcapital_ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Tech-Capital-101679965480510 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPZ8yuPvtECZCwV2g9OkX1w #digitalinfrastructure #datacenter #thetechcapital #middleeast #equinix @gulfdca #cloudadoption #cloudcomputing #datacentre #infrastructure #youleadwereport

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