PR92627

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, October 27, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

- Oracle's second cloud region in Saudi Arabia will enable support of Vision

2030 technology ambitions

- NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co. and EzdiTek sign joint venture to build and

operate hyperscale data center

NEOM Tech & Digital Holding Company – the first holding company to be

established as a subsidiary of NEOM – today announced Oracle as the first

tenant of its hyperscale data center at NEOM. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)

will be hosted at the data center, providing a high-performing, resilient

foundation for cloud services.

To meet business continuity and compliance requirements, Oracle's unique

dual-region cloud strategy enables customers to deploy resilient applications

in multiple geographically separated locations within a country – without

having sensitive data leave the country. The agreement follows the successful

launch of the Oracle Cloud Saudi Arabia West Region in Jeddah in [https://www.oracle.com/middleeast/news/announcement/oracle-second-generation-cloud-region-2020-07-20.html]

February 2020 and supports Oracle's commitment to open two dedicated cloud

regions in the {https://www.oracle.com/ae/news/announcement/oracle-expands-global-cloud-footprint-to-meet-continued-triple-digit-growth-2021-10-11/]

Kingdom.

Speaking at the Kingdom's flagship Future Investment Initiative event, His

Excellency Abdullah Alswaha, Minister for Communications and information

Technology and Chairman of the NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co. Board of Directors,

said: "Saudi Arabia is fast emerging as a global technology hub and NEOM Tech &

Digital Hold Co.'s partnerships with Oracle and EzdiTek will enable us to build

the foundations required to deliver on our full potential. The data center will

not only attract global businesses by creating a powerful platform for

knowledge exchange, but it will also empower innovators to pilot their ideas at

scale inside the Kingdom. Today's announcement means the realization of

technology that will serve the ambitions of the public and private sector

across the region and far beyond, positioning Saudi Arabia at the forefront of

the industry."

Richard Smith, Executive Vice President – Technology, EMEA, Oracle, said: "We

are fully committed to support Saudi Arabia's digital economy objectives in

line with Saudi Vision 2030. Conceived and architected on security-first

principles, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is the preferred cloud in Saudi Arabia.

With this collaboration with NEOM, we are now expanding our footprint in the

Kingdom to continue supporting the digital transformation initiatives of the

country's public and private sector organizations."

Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of NEOM, said: "Establishing a hyperscale data center at

NEOM represents a significant milestone and is the first step in creating NEOM

as a new internet exchange point. This partnership offers a dynamic blueprint

for alliances, making a major stride towards our goal of becoming an economic

engine for the region and the world."

Joseph Bradley, CEO of NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co., said: "With

industry-leading partners of the caliber of Oracle and EzdiTek, NEOM Tech &

Digital Hold Co. aims to co-invent the future of living, designing and building

an ecosystem of cognitive technologies that will enable predictive,

personalized and autonomous services."

Fabio Fontana, Executive Director of NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co. Cloud Park,

said: "The data center is the first step in our overall Cognitive Connectivity

Hub strategy and combines levels of compute and connectivity that will be

unrivalled in the region. NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co. Cloud Park will create

an end-to-end gateway to the Kingdom and GCC markets for global content giants

and providers of cloud, networking and internet services. NEOM is the perfect

location for providers seeking to co-locate their infrastructure - it will be

cost-effective, drawing on high-speed connectivity and an abundance of skilled

talent."

NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co. (via its affiliates, NEOM Company) also announced

a USD 0.5bn joint venture with EzdiTek (via its affiliate, FAS Energy Trading

Co, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Fawaz Alhokair Group) to power the creation

and operation of the data center. EzdiTek will partner with global engineering

and architectural firms RED and Gensler.

Kamel Alqalam, Group Managing Director, Fawaz al Hokair Group, said: "We are

proud to partner with NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co. and support on a strategic

project of this magnitude and importance. It will allow us to offer our

co-location customers access to pioneering data center facilities. NEOM offers

a truly inspiring future and as leaders in renewable energy in the Kingdom we

are excited by the opportunity to help realize that vision."

The data center, 51% owned by NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co. and 49% by EzdiTek,

will be designed to meet the highest security standards in the industry and

serve MENA, parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, and eventually Europe. The data center

is strategically located at the nexus of terrestrial and sub-sea cable cables,

enabling it to provide customers with fast and reliable connectivity.

About Oracle

Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous

infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE:

ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com.

About NEOM Tech & Digital Holding Company

NEOM Tech & Digital Holding Company is powering the world's first ecosystem of

cognitive technologies at NEOM. Evolving from its Technology & Digital sector,

it was the first holding company to be established as a subsidiary of NEOM, a

region in Saudi Arabia charting the course for a new future fueled by

technology. NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co.'s digital infrastructure will be the

operating system of NEOM, enabling its communities and industries. In

partnership with global tech-industry leaders, it will co-invent the future of

living with pioneering cognitive technologies. Consent, trust and transparency

are fundamental to NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co.'s license to operate, providing

the ethical foundations to collect and leverage customer data to realize bold

ambitions. NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co. will use accurate, consented to and

protected data to learn the day-to day rhythms of residents to deliver

predictive, personalized and autonomous services. Its solutions will be powered

by unrivalled connectivity and computing capability, as well as cutting-edge

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics, all underpinned by global security

standards.

For further information visit :

https://www.neom.com/en-us/sectors/technology-and-digital

About EzdiTek

EzdiTek is part of Ezdihar Holding. EzdiTek's mission is to pioneer reliable

Digital Infrastructure Services to enable innovative and highly-demanding

digital services; and have an active role in the realization of Vision 2030

Digitization Mission within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Data Center Services

is at the corner of EzdiTek's Digital Infrastructure vision.

About NEOM

NEOM is an accelerator of human progress and a vision of what a New Future

might look like. It is a region in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea being

built from the ground up as a living laboratory – a place where

entrepreneurship will chart the course for this New Future. It will be a

destination and a home for people who dream big and want to be part of building

a new model for exceptional livability, creating thriving businesses, and

reinventing environmental conservation.

NEOM will be the home and workplace to more than a million residents from

around the world. It will include hyperconnected, cognitive towns and cities,

ports and enterprise zones, research centers, sports and entertainment venues,

and tourist destinations. As a hub for innovation, entrepreneurs, business

leaders and companies will come to research, incubate, and commercialize new

technologies and enterprises in ground-breaking ways. Residents of NEOM will

embody an international ethos and embrace a culture of exploration, risk-taking

and diversity - all supported by a progressive law compatible with

international norms and conducive to economic growth.

For further information email media@neom.com or visit www.neom.com.

This material is distributed by DJE Edelman Inc on behalf of NEOM Tech &

Digital. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice,

Washington, DC.

SOURCE: NEOM Tech & Digital