The figures, published today, echo trends seen in many markets and reinforce the demand for interconnection and greater bandwidth.
UAE-IX also reported "tremendous growth" in peak traffic, which set a new record during the UAE's first lockdown of more than 210 Gbit/s, an increase of 73%.
“Over the last 12 months, lockdowns and quarantines have created new challenges for both businesses and users. It has also accelerated digital transformation locally in the Middle East and across the globe. We are proud to have played a role in helping service providers, businesses, schools, citizens and the entire ICT ecosystem to adapt to this new world we live in,” said Abou Moustafa, VP – large and medium enterprise segment at du.
“The growth of UAE-IX over the past year is testament to its importance to the local economy and our society as a whole. Together with DE-CIX, we have enabled UAE-IX partners to adapt, pivot and minimise disruption, while providing them with a digital hub that enables local and global transformation. Our success is that partners connect, collaborate and grow in this new world,” he continued.
Supporting the traffic growth Microsoft Azure became available at UAE-IX in 2020 through the DE-CIX Cloud Exchange and its DirectCLOUD service. Further, due to the global pandemic, leading providers of collaboration tools increased their capacity in spring by up to 400%.
Ivo Ivanov (pictured), CEO of DE-CIX International said: “The global pandemic has made clear that data needs to be as close to the customer and the user as possible to increase quality, security, and resilience, as well as to reduce latency. So, it was a special milestone for us to sign the agreement with du in December for the expansion of UAE-IX to five more sites in the UAE. With the extended footprint of UAE-IX, we are underlining the strong position of the UAE as the data hub for the GCC and beyond, and we are bringing data much closer to the edge.”
The expansion is due for completion this quarter and will create the first nationwide and entirely datacenter-neutral interconnection platform in the Middle East and Africa. In addition to Dubai’s IMPZ datamena facility, new sites include Khazna Dubai, Khazna Abu Dhabi and a new point of presence on the east-coast emirate of Fujairah.
Capacity Middle East: Reconnect is taking place this week, online and live in Dubai. To register for any of the online sessions, click here.
