Intelligent Data Centres Issue 40 | Page 47

END USER INSIGHT
Haitham Hussien , Senior Associate ELV / ICT Engineer , AE7

DESIGNING THE DATA CENTRE WITH THE CLIENT IN MIND

Haitham Hussien , Senior Associate ELV / ICT Engineer , AE7 , discusses his involvement in some recent major projects , how sustainability plays a part in the design and operation of a data centre compared to some years ago , and how he works to ensure quality and construction of data centre design standards .
Can you tell us how you work with clients in the data centre sector ?
We work with clients from concept design stage to construction supervision , up until operation , including tendering and approvals . We receive the initial requirements from the client during the kick-off meeting to build our concept report . I meet with the project stockholders during project stages , where I present the design development and propose solutions for any technical constraints .
Afterwards , we go through extensive discussions related to the systems and services to be served by the data centre , proposed location , storage requirements , network operations , power and cooling requirements and future provisions , to reach the final design stage that could take the project to tender and construction phases .
Can you talk us through some of the projects you ’ ve been involved with from the point of commission to the point of completion ?
I have been involved in various projects across different sectors . I worked on the ICT and data centre design of mega projects in Dubai , Kenya , Qatar , Egypt and Oman . Also , I worked on airports , hotels , resorts , shopping malls , hospitals , banks , oil & gas , educational and smart buildings projects in Africa and Asia from concept stage to handing over to the client .
How does the design of a data centre differ today compared to www . intelligentdatacentres . com
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