ew research from Veeam Software, the Data and AI Trust Company, reveals that organisations across the Middle

East and Africa( MEA) are taking a deliberate approach to AI adoption by prioritising data sovereignty, operational control and cyber resilience.

The research, conducted among enterprise IT, data and security decision-makers across Turkey, Israel, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria,

South Africa and Kenya, found that MEA organisations place sovereignty at the centre of their AI and data strategies.

Key findings show that 60 % of organisations rank data sovereignty as a top strategic priority over the next 24 months, above the global average of 56.6 %. The region also leads EMEA in execution, with 60 % having fully operationalised their data sovereignty strategy, compared with 52.7 % across EMEA.

Control over data( 41.8 %), reducing breach risk( 37.8 %) and protection from foreign government access( 37.8 %) are the main drivers. Meanwhile, 37.6 % identify third-party vendors as the biggest challenge in understanding where data is stored, processed or accessed.

Nearly 45 % of organisations have adopted a hybrid AI approach, using local AI models for sensitive workloads and global AI platforms for broader use cases.

“ Organisations across the Middle East and Africa increasingly recognise that data sovereignty is not simply a compliance exercise. It is a strategic enabler for building trust in AI and driving secure digital transformation,” said Mena Migally, Regional Vice President, EMEA East at Veeam.

he UAE Cyber Security Council and Commvault have announced the launch of a dedicated Innovation Center

The CoE will serve as a regional hub for cyber resilience research and innovation and digital infrastructure protection. It will also provide a central venue for executive, customer, and partner engagements, as well as dedicated workstations and demonstration areas showcasing Commvault`s cyber resiliency capabilities in real-life scenarios. These simulated production environments provide hands-on practice responding to AI attacks and recovering complex applications, including entire cloud workloads and identity systems like Active Directory. infrastructure operators, universities, startups, and global technology partners within a single collaborative ecosystem.

A key component of the initiative is the planned establishment of a regional Commvault Readiverse environment that includes simulations, Minutes to Meltdown and Minutes to Recovery, enabling government agencies and enterprises to experience live cyberattacks and recovery scenarios to strengthen preparedness against evolving threats.

This collaboration supports the UAE’ s national vision for secure Digital Transformation by bringing together government entities, critical

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