The appearance of Akashi Data Center in Astana — Kazakhstan’s first industrial-scale commercial data center — may mark a turning point for the country’s digital market. Until now, Kazakhstan lacked sites that could offer businesses and international players the computing capacity, rack density, and vacant slots needed for serious cloud, enterprise, and AI workloads.
Why international IT companies are looking again
For years, the absence of commercial data centers at this scale effectively closed Kazakhstan off from global tech players: large platforms simply could not be hosted here. Akashi has already announced strategic partnerships with China Mobile International, Virtuozzo, and Fortinet. These deals strengthen the project’s technology ecosystem and show that a large-scale commercial DC can become a magnet for international services, platforms, and cloud and cybersecurity solutions.
Global analysts note that possessing a commercial data center with substantial capacity reserves is the key prerequisite in worldwide practice. Major international platforms — AWS, Microsoft Azure, Alibaba Cloud — only evaluate new markets when the underlying infrastructure exists: capable of handling high loads, ensuring redundancy, and providing rapid access to scalable capacity.
The CEO view
Akashi CEO Vladislav Minkevich emphasizes that the shortage of commercial data centers held the industry back for years:
“All these years, the absence of necessary infrastructure scale has hindered major foreign players from entering Kazakhstan. The economy missed out on technology, investment, and qualified jobs. That’s changing — we’re building the first industrial-scale commercial DC and, in parallel, partnerships in cloud, AI, security, and international connectivity.”
Infrastructure turning point in 2026
According to Zhaslan Madiev, Minister of AI and Digital Development, investment agreements worth KZT 800 billion have already been signed for data center construction and operations alone. If the momentum holds through 2026, Kazakhstan will shift from a consumer of digital services into a market where technology solutions are built, hosted, and localized.
The structural reading is straightforward: hyperscalers go where Tier IV-class facilities exist. Akashi’s launch is what unlocks the next wave of international deployments into the country.