The IT sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is touted to see a growth of 11 percent in 2010 with IT spending reaching over $4.3 billion, according to a report from International Data Corporation (IDC). The region will continue to see double-digit growth in IT spending until 2013, compared to just 2.5 percent in the world's developed markets, the report added. Against this backdrop, APC by Schneider Electric, global leaders in integrated critical power and cooling services, said early this week that it anticipates a busy summer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The company's bouquet of consultancy services and project management solutions which meets the IT industry's increasing dependence on cooling systems, will be in higher demand given that there is an increased requirement for cooling services in the summer to maintain the efficiency of high-density servers in an environmentally responsible manner, the company added. Jeff De Sousa, country vice-president APC by Schneider Electric - Saudi Arabia, said: “The projected growth by the IT sector coming mostly from the MENA region is set to contribute to nearly 17 percent of the global industry growth. The increasing demands from the industry have contributed to the added pressure on data centers to house high-density servers, while the global shift towards environmental responsibility makes it critical for the region to adhere to stringent guidelines. This makes the region more vulnerable to international market research firm IDC's projections that energy and cooling expenses will grow eight times faster than the amount of money spent on purchasing new servers through 2011.” “Historically, we've experienced a spike in demand for support services and maintenance during the summer months,” De Sousa added. The global leader in integrated critical power and cooling services has also alerted its customers about the potential damage “overvoltage” can cause during extreme weather conditions, especially during the summer months, resulting in short-circuit or fire. Area limitations and escalating rental costs have motivated a shift toward server consolidation and high-density applications using the same floor space by using 1U and blade servers or virtualization technologies. However, the high-density servers required to support such technologies produce greater heat, requiring sophisticated cooling services to keep them going and increasing cooling costs considerably. The majority of existing data centers (and some of the new ones being built) are not suitable for operating high-density systems, while the potential cost of reorganizing them is very high, according to industry estimates. APC by Schneider Electric sees a healthy growth for surge protectors and uninterrupted power supply systems in the Middle East during the summer months. According to market research, the combined Middle East and Africa UPS market was estimated to be worth $282 million in 2007 and is forecast to grow to $488.4 million by 2012, a CAGR of 11.6 per cent, significantly outpacing the worldwide average. De Sousa said: “Growth drivers in the region for surge suppressors and UPS systems are basic IT and infrastructure investments in office and home-office environments, voltage fluctuations and power cuts, especially during summer months, and a general awareness on the need to protect data and expensive electrical devices.”
