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First Microsoft Datacenter Academy in Middle East Launched in Saudi Arabia 

The Microsoft DCA is a two-year commitment to empower students with a focus on building applied datacenter skills, thereby enhancing their employability in high-demand technical roles and contributing to the Kingdom's economic diversification. (SPA)
The Microsoft DCA is a two-year commitment to empower students with a focus on building applied datacenter skills, thereby enhancing their employability in high-demand technical roles and contributing to the Kingdom's economic diversification. (SPA)
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First Microsoft Datacenter Academy in Middle East Launched in Saudi Arabia 

The Microsoft DCA is a two-year commitment to empower students with a focus on building applied datacenter skills, thereby enhancing their employability in high-demand technical roles and contributing to the Kingdom's economic diversification. (SPA)
The Microsoft DCA is a two-year commitment to empower students with a focus on building applied datacenter skills, thereby enhancing their employability in high-demand technical roles and contributing to the Kingdom's economic diversification. (SPA)

Microsoft Arabia and the National IT Academy (NITA) announced that the US software giant's first Datacenter Academy (DCA) in the Middle East will be launched in Saudi Arabia.

The Microsoft DCA is a two-year commitment to empower students with a focus on building applied datacenter skills, thereby enhancing their employability in high-demand technical roles and contributing to the Kingdom's economic diversification.

The announcement was made on the sidelines of LEAP 2025 in Riyadh.

The initiative aims to develop Saudi Arabia's national workforce, fostering a strong talent pool to lead the region's datacenter industry, enhance digital infrastructure and boost innovation.

By equipping professionals with the expertise needed to drive the Kingdom’s digital transformation, the Academy supports Saudi Vision 2030 and the government's objective to establish the Kingdom as a global hub for datacenters and innovation.

The launch of the initiative also comes shortly after Microsoft shared updates on the development of its datacenter region in the Kingdom; construction is complete on three Azure Availability Zones with availability anticipated in 2026. Microsoft’s datacenter region in Saudi Arabia is expected to have a transformative impact on the Kingdom's cloud market, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23.4 percent to reach $3.9 billion in 2027.

Commenting on this announcement, NITA’s executive director Nora Al-Shaikh said: "This partnership with Microsoft represents a significant milestone in our journey to establish Saudi Arabia as a global hub for datacenters. The Microsoft Datacenter Academy will empower professionals with the expertise needed to drive the Kingdom’s digital transformation and realize the ambitions of Vision 2030."

The Microsoft Datacenter Academy builds on Microsoft’s global efforts to provide accessible, practical, and high-quality training programs for the communities where it operates. By focusing on areas such as IT support, cloud technologies and datacenter operations, the Academy equips participants with globally recognized certifications and the skills necessary to enter and excel in high-demand technical roles.

This initiative not only introduces advanced technology but also ensures that qualified NITA students have access to the specialized skills needed to succeed in the rapidly evolving datacenter industry.

"The launch of the first Microsoft Datacenter Academy in the Middle East underscores our commitment to supporting Saudi Arabia's ambitious vision to become a global hub for digital innovation," said Microsoft Arabia vice president of national digital transformation Zainab Alamin.

"This academy will equip professionals with the highly specialized technical skills needed to thrive in the era of AI. Through this initiative, we are fostering local talent, creating new economic opportunities and preparing the Kingdom's workforce to lead in the next generation of digital transformation."

The curriculum is carefully designed to align with the core competencies essential for datacenter roles across the technology sector, encompassing datacenter infrastructure management, information-technology (IT) support, troubleshooting and mechanical services. It also incorporates experiential training in advanced areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, automation and cyber security.

Upon completion of the curriculum, students are eligible to earn either a certificate of completion or a diploma.

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Technology

Meta Reportedly Delays Release of Phoenix Mixed-reality Glasses to 2027

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Meta is seen at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Meta is seen at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
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Meta Reportedly Delays Release of Phoenix Mixed-reality Glasses to 2027

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Meta is seen at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Meta is seen at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

Meta is delaying the release of its Phoenix mixed-reality glasses until 2027, aiming to get the details right, Business Insider reported on Friday, citing an internal memo.

The delay from an initially planned release in the second half of 2026 is because the company wants a fully polished device, the report said.

Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the report.

Meta executives Gabriel Aul and Ryan Cairns said moving the release date back is "going to give us a lot more breathing room to get the details right," the report added.

The goggles, previously code-named Puffin, weigh around 100 grams (3.5 ounces) and have lower-resolution displays and weaker computing performance than high-end headsets like Apple’s Vision Pro, the Information reported in July.

Mixed reality merges augmented and virtual reality and allows real-world and digital objects to interact.

Meta is expected to make budget cuts of up to 30% for its metaverse initiative, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

The metaverse group sits within Reality Labs, which produces the company's Quest mixed-reality headsets, smart glasses made with EssilorLuxottica's Ray-Ban and upcoming augmented-reality glasses.

Technology

Apple, Google Send New Round of Cyber Threat Notifications to Users Around World

The Apple logo is seen in this illustration taken September 24, 2025. (Reuters)
The Apple logo is seen in this illustration taken September 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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Apple, Google Send New Round of Cyber Threat Notifications to Users Around World

The Apple logo is seen in this illustration taken September 24, 2025. (Reuters)
The Apple logo is seen in this illustration taken September 24, 2025. (Reuters)

Apple and Google have sent a new round of cyber threat notifications to users around the world, the companies said this week, announcing their latest effort to insulate customers against surveillance threats.

Apple and the Alphabet-owned Google are two of several tech companies that regularly issue warnings to users when they determine they may have been targeted by state-backed hackers.

Apple said the warnings were issued on Dec. 2 but gave few further details about the alleged hacking activity and did not address questions about the number of users targeted or say who was thought to be conducting the surveillance.

Apple said that "to date we have notified users in over 150 countries in total."

Apple's statement follows Google's Dec. 3 announcement that it was warning all known users targeted using Intellexa spyware, which it said spanned "several hundred accounts across various countries, including Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Angola, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, and Tajikistan."

Google said in its announcement that Intellexa, a cyber intelligence company that is sanctioned by the US government, was "evading restrictions and thriving."

Executives tied to Intellexa did not immediately return messages.

Previous waves of warnings have triggered headlines and prompted investigations by government bodies, including the European Union, whose senior officials have previously been targeted using spyware.

Threat notifications impose costs on cyber spies by alerting victims, said John Scott-Railton, a researcher with the Canadian digital watchdog group Citizen Lab.

He said they were "also often the first step in a string of investigations and discoveries that can lead to real accountability around spyware abuses."

Technology

AI Bubble to Be Short-lived, Rebound Stronger, NTT DATA Chief Says

FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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AI Bubble to Be Short-lived, Rebound Stronger, NTT DATA Chief Says

FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

A potential artificial intelligence bubble will deflate faster than past tech cycles but give way to an even stronger rebound as corporate adoption catches up with infrastructure spending, the head of Japanese IT company NTT DATA Inc. said.

Despite worries around supply chains, the direction of travel is clear, CEO Abhijit Dubey said in an interview with the Reuters Global Markets Forum.

"There is absolutely no doubt that in the medium- to long-term, AI is a massive secular trend," he said.

"Over the next 12 months, I think we're going to have a bit of a normalization ... It'll be a short-lived bubble, and (AI) will come out of it stronger."

With demand for compute still running ahead of supply, "supply chains are almost spoken for" over the next two to three years, he said. Pricing power is already tilting toward chipmakers and hyperscalers, mirroring their stretched valuations in public markets, he added.

AI has triggered the biggest technological shake-up since the advent of the internet, fueling trillions of dollars of investment and eye-watering equity gains. But it has caused shortages of memory chips, drawn regulatory scrutiny, and created growing unease over the future of work.

Dubey, who is also the firm's chief AI officer, said his company has begun rethinking recruitment strategies as AI reshapes labor markets.

"There will clearly be an impact ... Over a five- to 25-year horizon, there will likely be dislocation," he said. However, he added that NTT DATA continues to hire across locations.

Speakers at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York discussed how AI may upend work and job growth.

AI startup Writer Inc.'s CEO May Habib said customers are focused on slowing headcount growth.

"You close a customer, you get on the phone with the CEO to kick off the project, and it's like, 'Great, how soon can I whack 30% of my team?'," she said.

Still, a PwC survey of the global workforce released in November suggests the reality of generative AI usage has yet to match boardroom expectations.

Daily use of GenAI remains "significantly lower" than widely touted by executives, PwC said, even as workers with AI skills commanded an average wage premium of 56% — more than double last year's figure.

PwC also flagged a widening skills gap, with about half of non-managers reporting access to training resources, compared with roughly three-quarters of senior executives.