The third edition of W.Media’s Dubai Cloud and Datacenter Convention has drawn to a close, also concluding in the process the Gulf Digital Infrastructure Week. The Convention took place on October 22 at The Conrad, Dubai, where over 700 data center and information technology professionals came together to network, as well as listen to panel discussions and presentations made by industry experts.
Attendees included experts and thought leaders, including C-level executives, digital infrastructure professionals including architects, engineers and consultants (AECs), key buyers, decision makers, data center owners and operators. Delegates hail, not only from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but also its neighbouring countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
There were several power packed panel discussions throughout the day, the very first of which was moderated by data centre industry expert Sandeep Dandekar (Senior Director, NTT Data, India). Panelists included Kamel Al Tawil (MD – MENA, Equinix), Stuart Manby (Chief Sales Officer, Ezditek), and Colm Shorten (Senior Director, Data Centers, JLL). Together they examined the key technology trends that will shape data centers in the UAE and across the region over the next few years, as well as the impact of AI/ML, blockchain, robotics, analytics, quantum computing on demand for data centers. They also discussed the future role of this generation of technologies in planning and delivering key data center services and sustainability outcomes.
In yet another panel discussion moderated by Stephen Beard (Global Head, Data Centers, Knight Frank), panelists including Milan Radia (Founder and CEO, Connected Computer), Jayakumar Mohanachandran (Group CIO, Buzeki Enterprises Ltd), Brendan Press (Chief Commercial Officer, Gulf Bridge International), Ali Katkhada (Group CIO, Depa Group), and Amol Kulkarni (Regional Network Acquisition, Microsoft) discussed how advances in communications and networking technologies, such as 5G, WiFi 6 (and 7), increased role of VR/AR, photonics, the dawning of the metaverse, are now pushing the boundaries of what is possible, and how can data centers be prepared inside and out to transition into the ‘Era of Connectivity’.
There was also an all-woman panel moderated by Donna Lorenzen (APAC Regional Chair and Global Board Member, iMWomen, and Founder HerWorX). Here the panelists Priyanka Nagpal (Data Center Lead, Consulting – MEA, JLL), Oumkeltoum Loudiyi (Sr. Projects Manager, Sudlows Consulting), Linoy Kidd (CIO – Markets and Securities Services, MENAT, HSBC Bank Middle East), and Fadwa AlBawardi (Founder & CEO, FSAB Consulting) discussed the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the rapidly evolving digital infrastructure landscape in the Middle East.
The day-long Convention concluded with a glittering awards show where W.Media recognised and rewarded excellence and expertise of data centers and industry professionals across three key areas: People, Planet and Projects.
Following is the list of award winners in all categories:
- Data Centre Design & Build: Gulf Data Hub
- Digital Technology Inside the Data Centre: Equinix Middle East
- Innovation in Data Centre Cooling: Du EITC
- Sustainability in Design & Build: Khazna Data Centers
- Technology Leader: (Joint Winners): Walid Salem (IT Lead, Middle East, Zurich Insurance Company); Mohamed Arshad (Group Head of IT, Alserkal Group)
- Business Leader: (Joint Winners): Hussain Sajwani (Edgnex by DAMAC); Mahmoud Qashou (Director of Channel & Alliances, Huawei Middle East)
- Data Centre Design and Engineering Team: Khazna Data Centers
- Data Centre Operations Team: e& enterprise Cloud
- Data Centre Market Intelligence Team: Knight Frank
A special Middle East supplement of W.Media’s Cloud and Datacenters magazine was also unveiled at the event.
