Equinix and Omantel agree to build new Equinix data centre in Oman
Equinix Inc , the global interconnection and data centre company , and the Oman Telecommunications Company ( Omantel ), have announced they have entered into a joint venture to deliver data centre and interconnection services to customers in the Middle East through the development of a new network-dense data centre that will be located in Barka , near Muscat . This joint venture will establish the first world-class , carrier-neutral hub in Oman where carriers , content providers and cloud providers colocate critical IT infrastructure .
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Oman is strategically positioned between Asia , Africa and Europe , and the new Equinix International Business Exchange ( IBX ) data centre will create a regional interconnection hub with ultra-low latencies between global business markets .
Based on demand and requirements , customers in the GCC and wider MENA region can also leverage other Equinix data centres in the region for dual access to content providers , allowing carriers , content providers and cloud providers to further build resilience into their IT and network infrastructure . Talal Al Mamari , CEO , Omantel , said : “ We are excited to work with Equinix on this project and accelerate how users experience cloud , content and next-gen communications .
“ Today , data centre infrastructure sits at the heart of global ICT and enables all of us to enjoy the cloud-based apps and services we use every day .”
Retail sector continues to grow in Oman
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significant spaces across the GCC countries within the next five years , according to a recent report from Alpen Capital , which further sees the market growing as much as US $ 313 billion by 2021 .
The market confidence in Oman is hugely attributed to the country ’ s soaring economic growth , projected to rise to 2.9 % this year from 1.1 % in 2017 .
Shaikh Raid Bin Abdullah Al Araimi , Vice Chairman – Al Raid Group
With the growing interest of residents in new lifestyle choices , as well as the influx of tourists entering Oman , industry observers are seeing the country ’ s retail sector in a prime position to significantly contribute to the GCC ’ s continuing retail growth . More than 6.2 million square metres of retail development are expected to take up
Among the GCC countries , Oman is seen as the fastest growing economy with tourism being one of the key components , according to a report by Colliers International .
Shaikh Raid Bin Abdullah Al Araimi , Vice Chairman , Al Raid Group , said : “ The retail race in Oman is on and indeed , it is attracting the region ’ s attention as many investments are flowing into the local market .
“ Oman ’ s retail story is still being written and we are keen to make it a continuing success story in the years to come .”
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