Sustainability is now a strategic imperative, and organisations in the Middle East are increasingly turning to open source innovation to accelerate their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) objectives. From energy and healthcare to finance and government, open technologies are enabling organisations across the region to reduce their environmental footprint, build more resilient operations, and meet growing demands for transparency and accountability.
Greener Practices Through Open Innovation
At the core of this transformation is the adoption of open source, cloud-native technologies that enable organisations to do more, with less. Open platforms are helping businesses build applications that are not only scalable and cost-effective, but are also optimised for energy efficiency and sustainability.
One powerful example is SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), which is helping businesses improve data centre energy efficiency by 20–40%. By leveraging the high performance, low overhead, and advanced automation capabilities of SLES, data centres are able to reduce CPU workloads, power usage, and cooling requirements; this translates directly into lower carbon emissions. As the digital infrastructure expands in the Middle East, particularly in the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, there are significant implications where energy efficiency is increasingly under the spotlight.
In parallel, green data centres, powered by renewables and built on cloud-native, open source stacks, are emerging as foundational pillars of the region’s digital economy. By deploying container orchestration tools like Kubernetes and embracing edge computing solutions built on SUSE technologies, enterprises are minimising latency and energy-intensive data transfers, whilst increasing reliability in distributed environments.
These practices are already in motion across the Gulf. In Dubai’s Sustainable City and Sharjah’s Sustainable City, for example, businesses and communities are leveraging green technologies; from solar rooftops to sustainable agriculture to lower emissions and build smarter cities. Open source innovation further amplifies these initiatives by providing a flexible digital backbone for smart grid systems, energy management, and real-time analytics.
Sustainable DevOps and Smarter Resource Use
Sustainable software development practices are becoming the norm, and open source DevOps tools are leading the way.
With SUSE’s portfolio of open source solutions, teams are building more efficient development pipelines and automating infrastructure provisioning to eliminate waste and reduce operational overheads. This shift is enabling a new generation of IT that is leaner, faster, and greener, from development right through to deployment.
Containerisation and virtualisation, supported by SUSE’s enterprise-grade Linux and Rancher solutions, further empowers enterprises to consolidate workloads and run applications at scale while using fewer physical resources, significantly improving sustainability and cost efficiency.
Empowering Local Talent and Inclusive Innovation
Sustainability isn’t just environmental, it’s also about building inclusive, future-ready economies. Open source fosters shared knowledge, collaboration, and skills development, all of which are critical to the region’s long-term ESG goals.
Across the Middle East, governments, universities, and enterprises are investing in open source education and certification programmes. SUSE supports this effort through training and certification pathways that empower new talent to build expertise in Linux, Kubernetes, and cloud-native technologies, helping to bridge the regional skills gap and unlock new opportunities for digital innovation.
This aligns with broader national strategies. In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) has set ambitious targets for tree planting, carbon reduction, and protected natural areas. Meanwhile, the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 Strategy is being realised through projects like the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park and the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, initiatives that require digital infrastructure and innovation rooted in transparency, efficiency, and adaptability.
Governance, Transparency, and Global Alignment
We also see the benefits of open source innovation when it comes to governance. As ESG reporting becomes a non-negotiable standard, open source solutions are proving vital for building secure, compliant, and transparent digital operations. SUSE’s open technologies allow organisations to audit, monitor, and adapt systems in real-time, ensuring alignment with strict local and international regulations.
This commitment supports growing regional efforts to build ESG-aligned financial systems. For example, Etihad Rail in the UAE has introduced a Sustainable Finance Framework to support green bond issuance, funding low-carbon infrastructure aligned with international ESG standards.
Building a Greener, Smarter Future
From decarbonising digital infrastructure to nurturing open talent ecosystems and strengthening governance, open source is accelerating the Middle East’s path to a sustainable future. Open source technologies are proving that performance and sustainability can go hand in hand, enabling organisations to reduce energy consumption, lower costs, and build resilient, compliant operations.
In a world where ESG is reshaping the future of business, open source stands out as a strategic enabler, empowering the region’s innovators to lead responsibly, grow sustainably, and create long-term value for society and the planet.
By Ismail Ibrahim, Sales Director & General Manager for CEMEA at SUSE