SCC appointed Daniel Valle on Tuesday to lead its first Middle Eastern operation, targeting 50 employees by late 2026 as the British technology provider chases a slice of the UAE’s projected $96 billion AI economy.
The Birmingham-based firm—Europe’s largest privately owned tech company—will base its new regional headquarters in the Emirates. Valle brings two decades of international technology leadership to the role.
The timing matters. AI investment across the Middle East is forecast to inject $320 billion into regional economies by 2030, according to industry projections, with the UAE claiming nearly a third of that figure. Governments from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi are pouring billions into cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence capabilities, creating what Robert Vassoyan, SCC’s group chief executive, calls “one of the most ambitious and strategically important technology markets in the world.”
SCC has spent nearly half a century building corporate IT infrastructure across Europe. Now it’s betting that experience translates to a region sprinting through digital transformation at a pace that would have taken Western markets decades.
“We are excited to expand our presence in the region and support organisations as they continue to scale digital infrastructure, cloud capability and AI driven operational environments,” Vassoyan said. “For nearly 50 years SCC has focused on helping organisations deliver long term technology outcomes, and we see strong alignment between that approach and the direction and ambitions of the region today.”
The UAE office will focus on what the company describes as end-to-end technology solutions—infrastructure builds, systems integration, and cybersecurity for both government and enterprise clients. It’s a crowded field. Global technology providers have stampeded into the Gulf states over the past three years, attracted by government spending on smart city projects and AI-readiness initiatives.
Valle framed the opportunity around operational maturity rather than raw capability. “The Middle East is entering a new phase of digital maturity where operational performance, infrastructure strategy and long term resilience are becoming increasingly important,” he said. “Organisations across the region are now looking beyond capability alone and focusing on how infrastructure performs consistently at scale across increasingly connected environments.”
What differentiates this expansion from earlier technology land grabs, he suggested, is the shift from building fast to building sustainably. “SCC Middle East is focused on helping organisations deliver infrastructure and operational capability that supports long term performance, operational continuity and sustainable growth. There is significant momentum and opportunity across the region, and we are committed to building strong long term partnerships here in the UAE and across the wider Middle East.”
The headcount target—more than 50 staff within two and a half years—suggests measured growth rather than aggressive scaling. SCC plans to expand beyond the UAE over time, though it hasn’t specified which regional markets come next.
The move comes as the company ramps up investment across its global operations in applied AI, cybersecurity, and digital workplace technologies. Whether the Middle Eastern market’s appetite for infrastructure projects can sustain yet another major European technology provider remains an open question.
For now, Valle and his team are making the bet that organisations across the Gulf will pay premium rates for the kind of operational resilience that takes decades to refine. The answer will emerge as those 50 hires start delivering projects across some of the world’s most ambitious—and most scrutinised—digital transformation programmes.
