Drone strikes on data centers spook Big Tech, halting Middle East projects
Summary
A London-based data center company paused all its projects in the Middle East after one of its facilities was damaged by an Iranian missile or drone. This damage and ongoing conflict in the region have caused major tech companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to rethink expanding their cloud and AI data centers in Gulf countries.Key Facts
- Pure Data Centre Group, which runs data centers across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, stopped new investments in the Middle East after an attack damaged a facility.
- The conflict began with a US-Israeli strike on Iran on February 28, and Iran responded by hitting US military bases, energy infrastructure, and shipping routes in the Gulf.
- Iranian attacks damaged two Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in the United Arab Emirates and damaged a third in Bahrain.
- AWS faced power disruptions and water damage from fire suppression systems at its data centers, affecting many customers and forcing AWS to waive fees for March, costing about $150 million.
- Pure DC’s affected data center on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island supports a large unnamed client and focuses on AI and cloud computing.
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps warned of attacks on US tech companies linked to Israel, naming Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia, and Oracle.
- An attack on an Oracle data center in Dubai was partially confirmed after local air defenses intercepted an aerial threat; shrapnel hit the building facade.
- These attacks are making tech companies reconsider how they invest and operate their cloud infrastructure in the Middle East due to safety and financial risks.
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