Zain Group’s Data Office, working with ZainTECH,has been awarded the Hybrid & Infrastructure Modernization Award at Cloudera’s EVOLVE25 Data Impact Awards in Dubai.

The recognition highlights how the group has built a modern hybrid data environment that connects on premise and cloud systems so data can move quickly and securely across its seven operating companies.

According to Zain’s own announcement, the new stack gives teams a unified and secure way to work with data across markets, while keeping costs under control and improving access for analytics and AI use cases. Key benefits include stronger data governance, better performance, and faster routes from raw data to insight.

“This award reflects Zain Group’s ongoing journey toward digital and data excellence,” said Mohammed Al Murshed, Chief Technology Officer of Zain Group, noting that enterprise data is now one of the most valuable assets inside any organisation. He described the modernised hybrid infrastructure with Cloudera and ZainTECH as a stronger foundation for innovation, security, and growth.

Cloudera’s Chief Technology Officer, Sergio Gago Huerta, framed the win as proof that Zain is using data in a meaningful way in an era where AI powered insight must be secure, responsible, and real time. The award itself sits within Cloudera’s long running Data Impact Awards, which celebrate organisations that drive measurable change through data across sectors from finance to telecom.

For Bahrain, where Zain Bahrain is a key operator in the Kingdom’s telecom market, the move aligns with a wider national push to treat data infrastructure as a growth engine rather than just a back office asset. The government’s National Digital Economy Strategy sets out a roadmap to position Bahrain as a competitive global digital hub, with investments in cloud, connectivity, and talent to back this ambition.

Those infrastructure ambitions are visible in recent projects supported by the Bahrain Economic Development Board, such as the USD 320 million 2Africa Pearls submarine cable and Bahrain Data Center Park, which aim to boost capacity and resilience for data heavy services. For founders, that means lower latency, better regional reach, and more options for hosting sensitive workloads inside the Kingdom.

On the human capital side, Bahrain is also investing in AI and data skills. National initiatives with the Labour Fund Tamkeen, highlighted on the government’s “Building skills in AI and STEM” portal, support specialised AI and data science training with partners like General Assembly, Localized, and Reboot01, giving Bahrainis access to software engineering, data analytics, and cloud engineering paths.

Put together, Zain Group’s regional data award and Bahrain’s own push on digital infrastructure and skills send a clear signal. For local founders and tech teams, now is the moment to stress test data architectures, plug into Tamkeen backed training, and look for partnerships with operators and cloud providers so their products can sit comfortably on top of the same kind of hybrid, AI ready foundations that global players are starting to build across the region.