Commvault and the UAE Cyber Security Council have launched a new Innovation Center of Excellence in Abu Dhabi to strengthen cyber-resilience, support cybersecurity education and help organisations prepare for AI-driven cyberattacks.
Commvault and the UAE Cyber Security Council have announced the launch of a dedicated Innovation Center of Excellence (CoE) in Abu Dhabi, aimed at advancing cyber-resilience across government, critical infrastructure, academia and the private sector.
The centre was unveiled during Commvault’s SHIFT Dubai roadshow at the Museum of the Future and will serve as a regional hub for cyber-resilience research, innovation and digital infrastructure protection.
According to the organisations, the facility will provide a collaborative environment bringing together government entities, critical infrastructure operators, universities, startups and technology partners. It will also feature demonstration environments that allow organisations to simulate real-world cyber incidents and recovery scenarios.
A key component of the initiative is the planned deployment of a regional Commvault Readiverse environment. This includes the company’s Minutes to Meltdown and Minutes to Recovery simulations, which are designed to help organisations experience and respond to realistic cyberattack scenarios.
The simulations enable participants to practise responding to AI-driven attacks, compromised backups and large-scale disruptions affecting cloud workloads and identity platforms such as Active Directory. The aim is to strengthen preparedness and recovery capabilities rather than focusing solely on threat detection and containment.
The education element forms a significant part of the initiative. Commvault and the UAE Cyber Security Council will introduce a self-paced e-learning programme that gives university students access to industry-aligned cyber-resilience training and certification.
Students who complete the programme will be eligible to earn the Commvault Practitioner Certification, helping develop skills in enterprise data protection, cloud technologies and cyber-recovery. The initiative is intended to support the UAE’s broader cybersecurity strategy by building a pipeline of future cyber-resilience professionals.
“Cyber-resilience is a national imperative, and it requires more than the ability to defend; it requires the capacity to recover,” said H.E. Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity for the UAE Government.
“This Centre of Excellence with Commvault directly advances that capacity, bringing enterprise-grade recovery simulation and structured talent certification to the UAE’s government entities and critical infrastructure operators.”
Fady Richmany, Corporate Vice President, Emerging Markets – CEE, CIS, and META, Commvault, said the collaboration would help organisations strengthen resilient operations while reinforcing the UAE’s position as a global leader in cybersecurity innovation and trusted digital infrastructure.
The announcement highlights the growing importance of cyber recovery and workforce development as governments and organisations face increasingly sophisticated AI-powered cyberthreats.
