Riyadh-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: 18 June, 2011 - Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, recently announced the successful installation of the first Tier IV* data centre (definition see below) with Saudi Telecom Company (STC) - the leading national provider of telecommunication services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Telecom Company has always been a front runner in keeping pace with the emerging technologies in the telecommunications sector to satisfy the ever growing needs of their customers. Its goal has always been to provide the highest quality service at affordable prices. This strong commitment for customer satisfaction ensures that they are up-to-date with advances in technology. This prompted their decision to go for a Tier IV technology-led data centre.
The planning for this data center for STC started in late 2008. The objective was to build a state of the art data center with redundancy 2N (N+1**) and high availability to meet the growing requirements of its customer base in real time. Furthermore, the planned installation needed to support all mission critical applications and the IT infrastructure of the entire operation. STC also specified that scalability and a modular data center approach had to be incorporated to accommodate extra loads in the future. Additionally, the remote monitoring and managing of the data center was a must as well as a solution that provided energy efficiency.
Abdulmalik Ibrahim Al Murshed, Network Implementation - General Manager, Saudi Telecom Company, said: "Customers expect 100% uptime and reliability. Hence, we were looking for a worry-free solution which integrated cooling, standardized racks and power. We chose APC by Schneider Electric as they offered a state-of-the-art InRow Cooling architecture that included energy saving solutions to help cut energy costs by up to 30 per cent by using the Hot Aisle Containment System and also support dynamic cooling for very high density (Blade technology) in virtualized environment (up to 30Kw/rack). In addition, their systems are easy to operate and allow planning for expansion in the future, using APC's data center management system and asset tracking tools."
"We wanted to showcase the latest in technology, high density deployments and applications to serve our customers better. STC data centers are built with long-term vision and focuses on quality, reliability, efficiency and customer satisfaction," added Al Murshed
Jeff De Sousa, Vice-President, APC by Schneider Electric - Saudi Arabia, said: "Schneider Electric has the vision and the technology to help deliver these solutions and to provide strict ROI controls to our customers. We are proud to be part of STC and the next step of the evolution of datacenter technology & cloud computing in the kingdom."
Situated in Jeddah, the installation of the data center started in June 2010 with the active support from Seder Telecom - one of the top general contractors for data centers and telephone exchanges for STC. Complete with APC's InfraStruXure® architecture, the industry's most comprehensive integrated power, cooling and management solution for datacenters, the datacenter consists of 10 units of 400 KVA APC Galaxy UPS, Netshelter ® 42 u Racks access control and environmental monitoring etc. Further, installation of APC's InfraStruXure® Central meant that a monitoring system being installed which collects, organizes and distributes critical alerts, surveillance video and key information from anywhere on the network.
InfraStruXure® provides Total Cost of Ownership!
Jihad Mahmalat, General Manager, Seder Telecom, said: "We found InfraStruXure® very intriguing because the modularity of the system enables you to add and grow with the system at any rate you choose. Additionally, it allows you to build a data center within any budget. We have attained a lot of expertise in installing data centers in Saudi Arabia and take pride in being part of the first Tier IV data center in the country. APC's solutions stand out in providing all data center solutions under one roof."
These solutions include:
- Standardized secured rack enclosures for servers
- In-Row cooling system
- No need for raised floors
- UPS with batteries within the same structure
- Managed PDUs in the racks to measure power consumption.
- Data Center Physical Infrastructure Management (DCPIM) to monitor Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) and manage everything from a 'single pane of glass' using Energy Management Power Logic Control.
The project also saw solutions being installed from other business units of Schneider Electric, apart from APC. The scope included the installation of the trusted range of MV Ring Main Units RM6 allowing continuity of service at all times and a whole range of Low Voltage switchboards. Prisma Plus using the state-of-the-art range of molded case and air circuit breakers from Schneider Electric forms the backbone of the installation.
The Complete Building Management Solution provided is an innovative approach that literally takes the integrated systems to a higher level of performance. All STC data center's electrical and mechanical systems are monitored and managed centrally, regardless of the number of existing or added systems. By using the Schneider Electric BMS solution, STC was able to minimize the infrastructure cost, as well as the installation and operating cost. The centralized redundant solution ensures the availability of the system while realizing a considerable energy saving.
Christophe Campagne, Country President, Schneider Electric-Saudi Arabia, said: "As the global specialist in energy management, we are proud to help our strategic customers address their energy challenges. We, at Schneider Electric, make the energy not only safe, reliable, efficient and productive, but we also became pioneer in making it green by using end-to-end innovative and modular solutions based on EcoStruXure architecture. In this project, which is the first of this kind in the Kingdom (Tier 4 data center), STC was able to optimize his investment in terms of infrastructure while ensuring maximum availability of its system and minimum operating cost. The success of this project is the result of a strong and early collaboration between Schneider Electric and Saudi Telecom Company, which enabled us to optimize the design of the whole data center through integration of mechanical, electrical and IT systems. With more than 30 years of cumulated experience and strong presence in the Kingdom, our customers can always rely on us to make the most of their energy."
-Ends-
About APC by Schneider Electric
APC by Schneider Electric, a global leader in critical power and cooling services, provides industry leading product, software and systems for home, office, data centre and factory floor applications. Through its unparalleled commitment to innovation, APC provides pioneering, energy efficient solutions for critical technology and industrial applications that are well planned, flawlessly installed and maintained throughout their lifecycle. APC solutions include uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), precision cooling units, racks, physical security and design and management software, including APC's InfraStruxure® architecture, the industry's most comprehensive integrated power, cooling, and management solution.
About Schneider Electric
As a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, Schneider Electric offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in energy and infrastructure, industrial processes, building automation, and data centres/networks, as well as a broad presence in residential applications. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, and efficient, the company's 110,000 plus employees achieved sales of 19.6 billion euros in 2010, through an active commitment to help individuals and organizations "Make the most of their energy."
www.schneider‑electric.com
For further information, please call:
APC by Schneider Electric
Sakina Tazun
Tel: +971 4 7099 624
Email: sakina.tazun@schneider-electric.com
Jiwin Public Relations
An APCO Worldwide Company
Rishi Talwalker
Tel: +971 4 361 3572
Email: rishi.talwalker@jiwn.ae
Saudi Telecom Company
Saudi Telecom Company was incorporated in 1998.
STC is the leading national provider of telecommunication services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The company is working continuously to fulfill and satisfy the market requirements, keeping pace with the emerging technologies in the telecommunications sector and satisfying its customer's needs.
Believing in the importance of its customers and fulfillment of their needs, STC has recently adopted its FORWARD Strategy that aims to support and re-enforce its competitive position. Based on this strategy, STC strives to enhance customer- centric culture in all its business aspects. This culture has been reflected in the organizational design of the company that comprises Corporate Center, a number of Functional Units and Four Key Business Units focused on the Key STC Customer Categories which are:
1. Personal BU 2. Home BU 3. Enterprise BU 4. Wholesale BU
In the last few years, STC has gone beyond its local borders to the international markets, forming a network of businesses and investments in a number of GCC countries, Asia & Africa. The company has now foot print in Kuwait, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey and South Africa which has enabled STC to serve a greater number of its customers which the company seeks to increase internationally through studying and evaluation of potential investment opportunities in the future in line with FORWARD Strategy.
Seder Group
Seder is a professional group of companies with a broad range of multi faceted businesses and services, each complementing one another for the larger success of their business. Their activities spectrum ranges from the indigenous needs to the most advanced of telecom and Electro-Mechanical works.
Seder Group was established in 1981 to provide operation and maintenance services to both government and private sectors in the Kingdom. Over the years, SEDER evolved to a formidable company which employs Twelve Thousand (12,000) personnel ranging from highly trained managers, engineers and technicians to laborers in all areas of expertise. Their activities are in Operation and Maintenance, Construction, Technical Building Services, Telecommunication, Direct Mail Services, Housing Compounds Management, Catering, Travel and Tourism, Water Supply, Janitorial and Housekeeping Services, Pest Control Services, Solid and Liquid Waste Management, Metal Scrap Collection and Environmental Services.
Tier Level Requirements (Uptime Institute definition):
Tier I - Single non-redundant distribution path serving the IT equipment
Non-redundant capacity components
Basic site infrastructure guaranteeing 99.671% availability
Tier II - Fulfills all Tier 1 requirements
Redundant site infrastructure capacity components guaranteeing 99.741% availability
Tier III - Fulfills all Tier 1 and Tier 2 requirements
Multiple independent distribution paths serving the IT equipment
All IT equipment must be dual-powered and fully compatible with the topology of a site's architecture
Concurrently maintainable site infrastructure guaranteeing 99.982% availability
Tier IV - Fulfills all Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 requirements
All cooling equipment is independently dual-powered, including chillers and heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems
Fault-tolerant site infrastructure with electrical power storage and distribution facilities guaranteeing 99.995% availability
N+1 Wikipedia definition
In large business environments where reliability is of great importance, a single huge UPS can also be a single point of failure that can disrupt many other systems. To provide greater reliability, multiple smaller UPS modules and batteries can be integrated together to provide redundant power protection equivalent to one very large UPS. "N+1" means that if the load can be supplied by N modules, the installation will contain N+ 1 module. In this way, failure of one module will not impact system operation.
© Press Release 2011
