Saleh Fareed

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, plans to boost its datacenter infrastructure management market, strengthen its team and expand its presence in Saudi Arabia, said senior officials.



Speaking to the Gazette during the company’s annual “Power to the Cloud” conference and exhibition held recently in Dubai, Thierry Chamayo, vice president IT business Middle East & Africa, reaffirmed the company’s investment and expansion plans for Saudi Arabia.



“Saudi Arabia is considered as our second largest market in the region and we have made positive progress with ongoing projects,” he said, noting that Saudi Arabia is a very important and strategic country for Schneider Electric, which has deployed more than around 1,000 people in various parts of the Kingdom covering the main cities.



“Historically we have been involved in the Saudi economy in different layers and different angels and we have been engaged in various levels with Saudi stakeholders and at the same time supported by governmental investments in major projects as well as the private sector,” he said.



Chamayo said Schneider Electric has won recently the first two phases of Al-Shamiah project in Makkah to assist the Saudi government in making sure that the holy place gets full power.



Beside the recent deal with Saudi Arabia in Al-Shamiah area, Schneider Electric has been involved in the Information Technology and Communication Complex (ITCC) in Riyadh, King Khalid University (KKU) in Abha which requires Schneider Electric to deploy a fully integrated Building Automation System, Ma’aden Aluminum Refinery Project, and the Old Airport Road Extension Project – Riyadh, a first for transportation and tunnels in Saudi Arabia.



“Saudi Arabia is not only a strategic country for us in terms of business but also in terms of culture because I think the demography of the Kingdom is absolutely amazing as it is one of the few countries in the world where today the population represents around 60 percent of young people which really helps us in introducing our new technology to such a big part of the country,” he added.



He praised the role of Saudi Arabia in making new investments to make sure that the youngsters get the proper education to step into the working life equipped with right education.



In reference to the main aim of  the annual “Power to the Cloud” conference and exhibition, Mike Hughes, senior vice president EMEA IT business, pointed out that Smart city programs are gaining more support at the national government level, as well, as a number of countries commits to investment in smarter urban infrastructure.



He said: “For sure the government of Saudi Arabia is aiming for a bright future for its citizens and that’s why we see so many new cities are being built in various parts of the Kingdom, depending on new technologies, such as King Abdullah Technology City.”



Hughes also highlighted the company’s recent success in organizing  the Power to the Cloud conference and exhibition under the theme “Building Next-Generation Mission Critical IT Infrastructure” which gathered thousands of global experts in smart cities and data center, IT decision makers and key influencers from Middle East & Africa.



“It is a one of the largest conferences of its kind in the region; the conference showcased the future of smart cities, ways to implement best international practices to manage energy consumption, ambitious plans to fulfil growing energy requirements and the concept of green cities for a better future,” he said.