Assessing the Role of Infrastructure Resilience, Vendor Coordination, and Cybersecurity Readiness in Enhancing Service Reliability: Mediating Effect of Operational Transparency in Data Centers of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study investigates how infrastructure resilience, cross-vendor coordination, and cybersecurity readiness affect service reliability in data centers across Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As digital ecosystems become more complex, the need for secure, efficient, and resilient infrastructure has intensified, particularly in mission-critical environments such as telecommunications and enterprise data centers. Drawing on socio-technical and institutional theories, this research introduces operational transparency as a mediating variable to explore how structured communication, compliance, and process clarity shape technical outcomes. The study targets IT and data center professionals managing multi-vendor environments, core fiber technologies (IP/MPLS, DWDM, GPON), and infrastructure systems such as power and cooling. A structured questionnaire will be used to collect data, and analysis will be conducted using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Findings revealed that while robust infrastructure and cybersecurity preparedness are crucial, transparent operations act as the conduit for translating these strengths into reliable service delivery. This research contributes to the growing intersection between computer science, cybersecurity, and organizational behavior, offering practical insights for data center governance and resilience in the Saudi ICT sector.