Agenda

09:00 - 09:50

REGISTRATION AND REFRESHMENTS

09:50 - 10:00

INAUGURATION CEREMONY

10:00 - 10:15

Pioneering Vision 2030: Transforming Saudi Arabia’s Digital Infrastructure for a Thriving Future

  • Accelerating economic diversification with nationwide digital infrastructure development
  • Highlighting key government policies and initiatives for driving innovation with data centers and cloud infrastructure
  • Advancing technology-driven innovation by fostering strategic partnerships with academia and startups

10:15 - 10:30

Where Vision Meets Opportunity: Empowering Investors to Join Saudi Arabia’s Tech Transformation

  • Promoting multinational technology companies to establish operations in Saudi Arabia through incentivization
  • Offering tax incentives, regulatory support, and streamlined procedures for establishing data centers and cloud services in the Kingdom
  • Investing in Tomorrow: Saudi Arabia’s Strategic Push to Create a Global Tech Hub

10:30 - 10:50

Harmonizing Data Compliance and Innovation: Charting a Secure Path for Digital Growth

  • Enhancing Data Governance to ensure compliance while maintaining operational flexibility
  • Integrating Security into Innovation to support seamless digital transformation
  • Aligning national data policies with international standards for global interoperability

10:50 - 11:10

Trends in AI cabling clusters

  • Enhanced Port density requires new solutions
  • Scalable cabling solution for flexible pod designs
  • Optimized cable management
Mustafa Akileh

Mustafa Akileh

Middle East Data Center Manager

Corning Optical Communications

11:10 - 11:30

Advancing Saudi Arabia’s Next-Gen Data Centers with AI-Powered Infrastructure

  • AI-Driven Insights: Leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance data security and enable smarter, data-driven decision-making for organizations in Saudi Arabia
  • AI-Driven Network Observability : Enhancing Data Center Intelligence and Performance
  • Future-Proofing IT Operations: Transforming data centers with AI-driven automation, paving the way for self-sustaining and adaptive IT environments
Khurram Shah

Khurram Shah

Chairman

Desert Dragon

11:30 - 12:00

Panel Discussion

Building the AI Factory: Sovereignty, Strategy, and Infrastructure"

  • Sovereignty Drives AI Infrastructure Demand: Shift from cloud to sovereign AI infrastructure for national and enterprise control
  • Retrofitting Datacenters for AI: Challenges and practical solutions for upgrading existing facilities
  • Greenfield AI Factory Builds: Why start from scratch and how to do it effectively
Moderator
Anas Al Saifi

Anas Al Saifi

Regional Sales Manager - MEA region

Delta Electronics

Mohammed Almazroai

Mohammed Almazroai

Data Center Director

Mobily

Said el Bouhali

Said el Bouhali

Head of Data Centers Middle East and Africa

Delta Electronics

Farooq Aljwesm

Farooq Aljwesm

Head of Data Centers

Aramco

12:00 - 12:30

PRAYER BREAK & VISIT TO EXHIBITOR LOUNGE

12:30 - 12:50

Panel Discussion

Powering Saudi’s AI Ambitions: Scaling Data Centres to Meet Hyperscale Demands

  • Role of Data Centres as the Backbone of AI Transformation
  • Building a Future-Ready Digital Infrastructure
  • Driving Hyperscale Success with Public-Private Partnerships
Kamel Al Tawil

Kamel Al Tawil

Managing Director

Equinix Middle East FZ LLC

Nishil Dhanani

Nishil Dhanani

Executive Director-Project Development

DataVolt

13:00 - 13:20

Designing Green Datacentres for the Net-Zero Era

  • Pioneering sustainable datacentre designs to optimize energy efficiency and operational resilience
  • Integrating renewable energy and intelligent cooling systems to achieve carbon neutrality goals
  • Regional success stories in deploying sustainable infrastructure at scale
Naveed Saeed

Naveed Saeed

Sr. Vice President, Topology,
Global Tier Authority

Uptime Institute

13:20 - 13:50

Panel Discussion

AI Networking Needs and impact on Cabling Strategy

Hans-Jürgen Niethammer

Hans-Jürgen Niethammer

Market Development Strategic Cloud Business EMEA/APAC

CommScope

Colm Shorten

Colm Shorten

Senior Director - Data Centers, Global Strategy & Innovation

JLL

Matt Froukhians

Matt Froukhians

Head of Data Centres

CBRE

13:50 – 14:00

High Reliability and Cost Effective DLC Data Center Built Experience Sharing

  • Experience in building DLC data centers
  • BEEHE liquid cooling product lines
  • Case study: NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 cooling solution
Gaven Gu

Gaven Gu

Sales Engineer

BEEHE Electric CO.,ltd

14:00 - 15:00

LUNCH BREAK & VISIT TO EXHIBITOR LOUNGE

15:00 - 15:30

Leveraging Hybrid IT Infrastructure for Effective Digital Transformation in the Generative AI Era

  • Aligning hybrid IT strategies with business goals for digital transformation success
  • Supporting Generative AI deployment and scaling to drive innovation and competitive advantage
  • Enhancing business continuity and disaster recovery through hybrid IT solutions
Moderator
Iftikhar Alvi

Iftikhar Alvi

Head of Special IT Projects

Tatweer Education Holding Company

Abdulaziz Alsaykhan

Abdulaziz Alsaykhan

CIO

Esports World Cup Foundation

Ali Hummadi

Ali Hummadi

Executive Director - Digitalization

ARASCO

15:30 – 15:45

Pioneering Web 3.0 Infrastructure for a Secure, Transparent, and User-Centric Digital Future

  • Adopting web3.0 technologies and mechanisms to bolster security within digital infrastructures
  • Fostering transparency through decentralized ledger technologies to enable immutable records and audit trails that build trust among users and stakeholders
  • Empowering user-centric experiences where individuals have greater control over their data and digital identities
Stephen Beard

Stephen Beard

Global Head Partner of Data Centre

Knight Frank LLP

15:45 - 16:00

Building a Secure & Intelligent Future: Unleashing Innovation with Next-Gen Cybersecurity and Cloud Solutions

  • Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI): Simplifying Complexity, Accelerating Digital Agility
  • Cybersecurity Redefined: From Perimeter Defense to AI-Driven Threat Prevention
  • Empowering Trust in the AI Era: Ethical Innovation
Aamir Pirzada

Aamir Pirzada

Chief Information Officer

National Metal Manufacturing & Casting Co. (Maadaniyah)

16:00 Onwards

CLOSING SPEECH AND VISIT TO EXHIBITOR LOUNGE

09:00 - 10:00

REGISTRATION AND REFRESHMENTS

10:00 -10:15

Role of Hyperconverged Infrastructure in Government Cloud Transformation

  • Unifying compute, storage, and network in high-trust environments
  • Results from national projects leveraging HCI for digital agility and security
  • Lessons from large-scale public sector deployments
Zaid Aljameel

Zaid Aljameel

Director of Cloud Infrastructure

Digital Government Authority

10:15 - 10:30

DevSecOps: Embedding Security for Critical Infrastructures and Applications

  • Integrating Security from the Start: Incorporate security measures throughout the entire development lifecycle, rather than as a final step
  • Automate Security Practices: Utilize automated tools and processes to continuously monitor and protect infrastructure against vulnerabilities
Khalid Alusail

Khalid Alusail

Executive Director - Technology Development

Red Sea Global

10:30 - 10:50

Verifying and troubleshooting critical infrastructure: The ultimate toolbelt for accelerating commissioning and maximising uptime

  • Addressing the challenge of verifying, troubleshooting and certifying network & fibre cabling at speed & scale
  • The power of preventative and predictive maintenance for ensuring uptime of critical infrastructure
Mike Slevin

Mike Slevin

Senior Director Field Sales EMEA/GM

Fluke

10:50 – 11:10

Fireside Chat

Sustainable and Green Datacenters for a Digital Saudi Arabia

  • Implementing energy-efficient practices in data center operations to reduce carbon footprint
  • Investing in renewable energy sources like solar and wind to power data centers
  • Promoting sustainable business practices among tech companies and encouraging the adoption of green technologies
Moderator
Dr. Mohammed ALSURF

Dr. Mohammed ALSURF

Managing Director / Founder & President

Tilad Sustainability Co. / Sustainability Professionals of Saudi Arabia

Muneer uz zaman Mohammed

Muneer uz zaman Mohammed

Director Data Center

Diriyah Company

11:10 – 11:40

Panel Discussion

Engineering the Future: Enabling High-Performance Data Centres Through Smart Design, Sustainability, and Localized Innovation

  • Smart Design is the Foundation of Efficiency and Scalability
  • Sustainability is No Longer Optional—It’s Strategic
  • Localized Innovation Drives Competitive Advantage
Moderator
Mathew Lambourn

Mathew Lambourn

Technical Director

JAMES L WILLIAMS Middle East

Simon Young

Simon Young

Sub Regional Lead - Energy, Location & Strategy, MEA

Google

Ramy Boufarhat

Ramy Boufarhat

CEO

JAMES L WILLIAMS Middle East

Alistair Davis

Alistair Davis

Director

Black & White Engineering

11:40 - 12:10

PRAYER BREAK & VISIT TO EXHIBITOR LOUNGE

12:10 - 12:40

Panel Discussion

Cloud-Powered Transformation: Redefining Collaboration, Decision-Making, and Competitive Advantage in the Digital Era

  • Balancing Security and Agility: Unlocking Operational Efficiency as a Strategic Advantage
  • Navigating Compliance and Data Localization: Building a Future-Ready Framework
  • Fortifying Cloud Security: Proactive Strategies for a Resilient Digital Future
Jamil Barakat

Jamil Barakat

EVP - Business Technology

Riyad Bank

Abdulaziz Alsubki

Abdulaziz Alsubki

Technology Infrastructure & Cloud Services Director

King Abdullah Financial District Development & Management Company (KAFD DMC)

12:40 - 13:00

Public Cloud Adoption: Secure, Compliant, and Efficient Transformation for Saudi Enterprises

  • Clarifying service models and adoption ambitions to choose SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, or private cloud where they fit best
  • Delivering measurable outcomes with FinOps and a practical roadmap by assessing, piloting, decision, and optimization with clear KPIs
  • Meeting Saudi regulatory requirements (PDPL, NCA CCC-1, CST) with governance, zero-trust security, and resilience built in
Dakheel Almogbil

Dakheel Almogbil

Public Cloud Operations

Aramco

13:00 - 13:20

Fireside Chat

Strengthening Saudi Arabia’s Digital Fortress: Enhancing Cybersecurity and Cloud Security Resilience

  • AI-Driven Cyber Defense & Threat Intelligence to enhance real-time threat detection, predictive analytics, and automated incident response
  • Strengthening cybersecurity governance and promoting sovereign cloud strategies to ensure data sovereignty and national security
  • Implementing Zero Trust Architecture and next-gen cloud security solutions to safeguard critical infrastructure and sensitive data
Moderator
Ali Shoker

Ali Shoker

Head of Cyber Security and Resilience Technology

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

Alaa Falimban

Alaa Falimban

Cybersecurity Director

Maaden

Javed A. Akbar

Javed A. Akbar

Chief GRC & Data Officer

National Industrialization Company – Tasnee

13:20 – 13:30

Building Sovereign AI Cloud Infrastructure for the Gulf's Data Centers: A Practical Guide

  • How to build sovereign, air-gapped AI cloud in local data centers
  • Deploy and manage 140+ AI models with full control
  • Compliance with GCC data laws and national AI mandates
Mihai Marcuta

Mihai Marcuta

Co-Founder & CEO

NodeShift

13:30 Onwards

LUNCH BREAK & VISIT TO EXHIBITOR LOUNGE

*The above is a running agenda and is subject to change