SCHNEIDER Electric, a global specialist in energy management, highlighted its Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) solutions at the International Data Corporation (IDC)’s IT Expo 2014 at Dubai’s Fairmont The Palm.

The day-long event drew more than 300 senior business leaders, global IT vendors and SME professionals to discuss strategic IT decisions based on best practices and sound technology. The event also offered IT professionals a forum to collaborate, connect and share ideas towards establishing a peer-to-peer community.

Schneider Electric leveraged its participation as platinum sponsors of the event to present its data centre management solutions such as StruxureWare, an integrated DCIM suite that includes comprehensive modules for data centre operations, control and management. This application enables businesses to manage their data centres across multiple domains by leveraging existing IT infrastructures. StruxureWare also offers a more balanced and optimised approach to power, energy and environmental management.

Jonathan Duncan, ITB MEA Director for Integrated Solutions and Data Centre Applications at Schneider Electric, presented a paper on the importance of “Orchestrating Data Centre Space, Power and Cooling”.

Duncan said IT Expo 2014 provided a timely platform to share best practices, discuss challenges and collaborate to implement IT ideas and innovations across several verticals. He added that Schneider Electric was proud to partner with and contribute to IDC’s technology initiative.

Duncan: IT Expo 2014 a timely event

“Schneider Electric’s DCIM solutions such as StruxureWare for Data Centres, facilitate sustainable business practices throughout the data centre lifecycle. We are witnessing surging demand for DCIM from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. This growth is driven by industries such as banking, government, healthcare and telecommunications that are aligning with regional smart city ambitions.”

According to IDC, Middle East IT spending will exceed $32 billion in 2014 with consumers, government entities, and the communications and financial services verticals contributing to about 74 per cent of this expenditure. Factoring in smart city requirements, experts forecast that the total spending on machine-to-machine (M2M) connections in the GCC countries will increase 19 per cent year-on-year in 2014 to $224 million.

Jyoti Lalchandani, group vice president and regional managing director - IDC MEA and Turkey, said: “The Middle East region will be one of the fastest growing ICT markets in the world for the next few years. Given this situation, IDC IT Expo offers a comprehensive, up-to-date, and reliable stage to discuss strategic IT decisions based on best practices and sound technology. This event is end-user focused and promises to play a key role in facilitating much-needed interaction between the providers of cutting-edge technology solutions and the business executives responsible for purchasing them. This event will demonstrate a range of industry-transforming solutions aimed at improving efficiency, fostering innovation, and ultimately increasing business competitiveness.”

As companies across the region step up their investment in software-as-a-service (SaaS), Schneider Electric has tailored its DCIM solutions for government sector projects including the Oman Data Park and the recently inaugurated data centre for Khalifa Port. With chief information officers in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar shifting to automation, cloud and mobility solutions, Schneider Electric will continue to develop and deploy sophisticated data centre management solutions to enterprises and individuals in the GCC.