How Much Does IT Infrastructure Setup Cost in Dubai? (2026 Price Guide)
Ask ten Dubai IT companies what an office setup costs, and you will get ten different answers. Or worse, you will get a shrug and a request to send over your requirements first. Nobody wants to talk numbers up front.
We do.
This guide lays out real price ranges for every piece of an IT infrastructure setup in Dubai in 2026. Not ballpark guesses. Actual figures from projects we run across Al Qusais, Business Bay, Deira, JAFZA, and the wider UAE. Use them to plan your budget before you pick up the phone.
Why Two Offices Can Get Very Different Quotes
A 20-person trading office in Deira and a 20-person professional services office in DIFC might need similar hardware on paper. But the actual project cost can swing by 40 percent or more. Why?
The building type is a big one. Pulling cable through a brand new fit-out with open ceilings and pre-installed conduits takes a fraction of the time compared to a retrofit in an occupied space with finished ceilings. Hardware brand matters too. An enterprise-grade Fortinet firewall costs more than a budget option, but it will still be running without issues in year five when the cheap one has been replaced twice.
Software licensing is the cost most businesses forget entirely until the invoice arrives. Windows Server licenses, Microsoft 365 subscriptions, and endpoint protection seats. These add up. Any honest quote should break them out separately so you know exactly what is recurring and what is one-off.
Structured Cabling Costs in Dubai
Cabling is the foundation. Get this wrong, and no amount of good hardware will fix a slow or unreliable network. Here is what you should expect to pay in 2026.
| Scope | Cable Type | Cost Per Point | Typical Project Total |
| Simple new fit-out with open ceilings | Cat6A | AED 150 to 250 | AED 3,000 to 8,000 for 20 points |
| Retrofit in an occupied office | Cat6A | AED 250 to 400 | AED 5,000 to 16,000 for 20 points |
| Floor-to-floor backbone | OM3 Fibre | AED 500 to 900 per run | AED 2,000 to 5,000 for a 2-floor building |
| Large corporate fit-out (50+ points) | Cat6A plus Fibre | AED 200 to 350 | AED 10,000 to 35,000 total |
If your office is being fitted out from scratch, the best thing you can do is get your IT provider involved before the interior designers close the ceilings. Pulling cable through finished ceilings costs two to three times more and makes a mess.
Server Installation Costs
Server pricing in Dubai varies based on hardware specs, the number of users it needs to serve, and the complexity of the setup. Configuration, security hardening, RAID, and backup all take time on top of the hardware itself.
| Office Size | Recommended Server | Hardware Cost | Install and Config | Total Estimate |
| 1 to 10 users | Tower server, 16GB RAM, 2TB RAID | AED 6,000 to 10,000 | AED 2,000 to 3,500 | AED 8,000 to 13,500 |
| 10 to 30 users | Rack server, 32GB RAM, 4TB RAID, UPS | AED 12,000 to 22,000 | AED 3,500 to 5,500 | AED 15,500 to 27,500 |
| 30 to 80 users | Rack server, 64GB RAM, 8TB, dual PSU | AED 22,000 to 40,000 | AED 5,000 to 9,000 | AED 27,000 to 49,000 |
| 80+ users | Virtualised environment | AED 50,000 plus | AED 10,000 plus | Quote after survey |
Networking: Firewall, Switch, and Wi-Fi Costs
This is where a lot of small Dubai offices cut corners and regret it. The router your ISP dropped off is not a business firewall. It was designed for a home connection. Replacing it with something suitable is not optional.
| Component | Entry Level | Mid-Range | Enterprise Grade |
| Enterprise Firewall | AED 1,500 to 3,000 | AED 3,000 to 8,000 | AED 8,000 to 25,000 plus |
| Managed Switch (24-port) | AED 1,200 to 2,500 | AED 2,500 to 5,000 | AED 5,000 to 15,000 |
| Wi-Fi Access Point (each) | AED 600 to 1,200 | AED 1,200 to 2,500 | AED 2,500 to 5,000 plus |
| Network installation labour | AED 1,500 to 2,500 | AED 2,500 to 4,000 | AED 4,000 to 8,000 |
IT Support and Maintenance Costs
IT support is where the real money gets saved or lost. A business running on break-fix support pays emergency rates every time something goes wrong. An AMC converts that unpredictable cost into a fixed monthly budget. For most Dubai SMEs, the math strongly favours the AMC.
| Business Size | Monthly AMC Cost | What Is Included |
| 5 to 15 users | AED 500 to 1,500 | Remote support, monitoring, patches, and quarterly on-site visits |
| 15 to 50 users | AED 1,500 to 4,000 | Monthly on-site backup monitoring, asset tracking, and helpdesk |
| 50 to 100 users | AED 4,000 to 8,000 | Dedicated manager, bi-weekly visits, IT roadmap, priority SLA |
| 100 plus users | AED 8,000 plus | Fully outsourced IT department model |
Real Project Examples: What Dubai Offices Actually Spend
| Scenario | Users | What Is Included | Estimated Total |
| Small trading office, Al Qusais | 5 to 10 | Tower server, 10-point Cat6A, firewall, one Wi-Fi AP, basic security | AED 12,000 to 22,000 |
| Growing retail business, Deira | 15 to 25 | Rack server, UPS, 20-point Cat6A, switch, two APs, firewall, M365 setup | AED 28,000 to 45,000 |
| Professional services, Business Bay | 25 to 50 | Rack server, 40 points, enterprise firewall, four APs, VPN, security audit | AED 55,000 to 85,000 |
| Warehouse operations, JAFZA | 30 to 60 | Rack server, NAS, 50-point Cat6A, enterprise switches, industrial Wi-Fi | AED 60,000 to 100,000 |
| Corporate office, DIFC | 60 to 100 | Virtualised servers, 80 plus points, full security stack, cloud, managed IT | AED 120,000 to 200,000 |
|
Important note These are planning estimates, not project quotes. Building type, existing cabling, hardware availability, and licensing all affect the final number. Teclonex provides fixed-price quotations after a free site survey, so you know exactly what you are committing to before any work begins. |
How to Keep Costs Down Without Compromising Quality
- Plan the full scope before buying anything. Partial setups that need additions six months later end up costing significantly more than a properly scoped project from the start.
- Combine the cabling and server installation if you are doing a new fit-out. Running them as separate projects adds 30 to 40 percent to the labour cost.
- Use the cloud for email and collaboration. Running your own email server in 2026 rarely makes sense for a Dubai SME. Microsoft 365 is cheaper, more reliable, and requires far less maintenance.
- Get at least two or three fixed-price quotations. Not hourly estimates. Fixed price. That is the only way to make a fair comparison.
- Hardware warranty matters. A server with no local UAE warranty support will cost you more in the long run than the premium you saved buying it.
|
Get a Fixed-Price IT Infrastructure Quote in Dubai Free site survey, no obligation. Teclonex will assess your space, count your data points, and give you a detailed fixed-price breakdown. Call or WhatsApp today. WhatsApp: +971 54 219 6496 Email: info@teclonex.com Web: teclonex.com/it-infrastructure-service/ |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why do IT infrastructure quotes vary so much in Dubai?
A: Scope is the biggest reason. One quote might cover hardware supply only. Another covers design, installation, configuration, testing, documentation, and a 12-month warranty on the work. Always ask what is explicitly included before comparing prices. A quote that is 30 percent cheaper but excludes labour and software licensing is not cheaper at all.
Q: Is the cloud always cheaper than having your own server?
A: Not necessarily. For very small offices of under 10 users, the cloud can work out cheaper because you avoid the upfront hardware cost. For businesses of 15 users or more with stable, predictable workloads, on-premise infrastructure is often cheaper over a five-year period once you account for monthly cloud subscriptions. Most Dubai SMEs end up with a hybrid setup for good reason.
Q: What are the hidden costs I should watch out for?
A: Microsoft licensing is the most common surprise. Windows Server CALs, Microsoft 365 per-user subscriptions, and endpoint protection seats. Then there are the recurring costs: annual firewall security licenses, UPS battery replacements every three to five years, and backup storage costs that grow as your data does. A good IT provider will put all of this in front of you before the contract is signed.
Q: How long does a complete IT setup take for a Dubai office?
A: For a 20-user office, a full setup covering cabling, server, networking, and configuration typically takes five to ten working days. Cabling takes two to three days, server and network setup takes two to three days, and configuration and testing takes another one to two days. Engaging your IT provider during the fit-out phase cuts this timeline significantly.
Q: Does Teclonex provide a warranty on IT infrastructure work?
A: Yes. All Teclonex installations come with a workmanship warranty, and we use hardware from brands with local UAE distributor support. Structured cabling installations include a Fluke DSX test certification for every run. We also carry forward responsibility for the setup through our AMC packages, so you always have someone accountable.
