Siemon, a leading global network infrastructure specialist, shared its data centre and convergence knowledge with Saudi Arabia.

At its seminar ‘Data Centres and ConvergeIT: Future Proofing Ur Infrastructure Investment,’ which recently took place in Riyadh, was co-hosted by Avaya.

The event saw technical experts from Siemon examine two key subjects - what the future holds for data centres and how intelligent buildings are using covered network infrastructures to support innovation and smarter working practices, said a satinet.

Carl Siemon, chief executive officer, spent two days in Saudi Arabia exploring the market and meeting some of the company’s expanding network of installation partners and end users.

“I’d like to thank those who made my visit so productive and enjoyable. Siemon is committed to its presence and support activities in the Middle East, which we recognise as a significant hub for global technological development.”

This view is backed up by research from Gartner, which suggests that IT infrastructure spending – comprising storage, server, and enterprise networking equipment – in the Middle East and Africa is set to reach $3.47 billion this year, a 4.1 per cent increase from last year.

The company’s EMEA technical manager, Lee Funnell, presented the evolution of the data centre highlighting that data storage is growing at 40-50 per cent per year and server growth is expected to increase tenfold over the next 10 years due to the use of the Internet in all aspects of modern life.
 
He also explained the latest developments in copper and optical fibre cabling technologies, including an update on the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group’s 40GBASE-T standardisation programme for what is likely to be called Category 8 and is scheduled for publication in October next year.
 
The vital role that network cabling plays in creating intelligent buildings was the subject of Funnell’s second presentation of the day.

Focusing on Siemon’s ConvergeIT intelligent building cabling system, he outlined how convergence brings together a number of IP based applications, such as security, access control, fire detection, digital signage, VoIP and video conferencing, with the aim of optimising capital and operational efficiency and providing an engaging, productive working environment for occupants.

He concluded by offering advice on system configuration and the benefits of implementing a zone cabling design, before describing a number of case studies that have successfully deployed ConvergeIT. - TradeArabia News Service