Major US hyperscale cloud providers operating data centres across the Gulf are rerouting data traffic away from the conflict zone through fibre-optic networks laid alongside crude oil pipelines by an Iraqi telecommunications company, ensuring uninterrupted delivery of apps and online services to millions of users.

The data centres serve customers in more than 190 countries, handling transactions, file storage, and application services for both businesses and individuals from Latin America to South Asia. When Iranian drones struck United Arab Emirates and Bahrain facilities belonging to Amazon on March 1, the disruption rippled across the wider region, according to Rest of World.

“Most if not all the hyperscalers” have bought capacity on the Iraqi route, Martin Frank, strategic adviser at IQ Networks, stated.

“Hyperscalers” is the industry term used for major cloud and tech companies, led by Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft—that operate data centres across nearly 40 countries.

Banking apps across the United Arab Emirates, including Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, went down, while payment and delivery platforms were also forced offline. Snowflake, the U.S.-based enterprise software company used by thousands of businesses worldwide, reported service disruptions in the Middle East linked to an outage on Amazon Web Services. In response, Amazon advised customers to shift their workloads out of the region.

Data from banking, payments, and enterprise platforms typically travels to Europe via submarine cables running under the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz before being routed onward to users worldwide. The war has placed those critical undersea cables at risk. As a result, an overland corridor through Iraq has been developed as a backup route in case the sea cables are disrupted or disabled.

“The push for more diverse fiber routes out of the Gulf is ultimately driven by hyperscalers such as Google,” Paul Brodsky, senior research manager at TeleGeography, noted.

Cloud providers are increasingly seeking to purchase raw fiber strands along the route—known in the industry as “dark fiber.” In this model, the buyer deploys its own equipment at both ends, transmits data using laser signals through the fiber, and retains full control over operations, including security and traffic management.