Cabling infrastructure network at giant Emirates Palace Hotel
Located in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, the magnificent Emirates Palace is a national landmark and one of the most impressive hotels and conference venues ever built. The Emirates Palace is located on 1.3 km of private white sandy beach and is surrounded by 85 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens. It offers a $1 million vacation getaway package, in which the staff tuck lavender into residents’ pillows every night and a private butler is available to fill the bathtub with champagne. These are just a few of the luxuries that world leaders, celebrities and wealthy vacationers enjoy during their stay at this remarkable hotel.
Guests can also make phone calls, watch television and surf the internet thanks to a network featuring Tyco Electronics’ AMP NETCONNECT products. With a vision to offer exceptional design and luxury coupled with next generation technology, the Emirates Palace Hotel is the region’s first large scale ‘triple play’ solution – video, voice and data – using IP implementation.
Considered one the most expensive
hotels ever built, the $3 billion Emirates Palace Hotel relies on a broadband network for its communications. This high-speed, internet-based network was built with cables and jacks from Tyco Electronics’ Enterprise Networks business. Tyco Electronics provided a wide range of AMP NETCONNECT products for the system, including 15,000 Category 6 UTP copper cable links, 1200 MT-RJ jacks and hundreds of kilometres of fibre-optic cable – valued at approximately $1.2 million. Milad Gabriel, Tyco Electronics’ Middle East Regional Manager for Enterprise Networks, says: “The Emirates Palace Hotel network was the business unit’s first large, high-end project in the Middle East that deployed voice, data and video capabilities over the same cabling structure.”
The system was installed by Gulf Systems, a local system integration company that worked with Tyco Electronics engineers to confirm that the network would meet the high performance and security specifications required by the hotel and its guests. The original specifications were not a fit for the local
FM beyond the office T
he technology press abounds with articles heralding the future of cloud computing and remote working. But if the future means off-site servers and working from home or on the road, will facilities managers have to take responsibility for services beyond the traditional office walls?
Modern teleconferencing services now mean any number of people from any number of locations can join a conference call, whether they’re on their mobile phones, working from home, or even using their laptop in a coffee shop. Conferencing has advanced to the point that presentations, document sharing, training and meetings can take place online in real- time from remote locations. Many facilities managers responsible for a
building’s internal IT infrastructure are finding that businesses are shifting to virtual IT services, and are called upon to integrate remote working services – including
conferencing – into the existing
Richard Stone Building & Facilities Management – October 2010 feature :: office horizons 23
market and for the project’s key requirements. The Tyco Electronics AMP NETCONNECT team were called on to localise the specifications and recommended a system that offered better security and increased performance. A major factor in the network’s installation was the hotel’s enormous size. The Emirates Palace Hotel stands eight stories high, is more than 800 m long, and covers 850,000 square meters of floor space. An intricate labyrinth – the hotel construction site was maze-like – and managing the physical whereabouts of the 20,000 person installation teams became top priority.
Today, the broadband network can be accessed anywhere within the hotel, from the lobby to its exclusive guest rooms, conference halls, restaurants, kitchens, laundries, and even its parking lots, poolside and on the beach.
Email:
dave.richens@tycoelectronics.com www.ampnetconnect.co.uk
Richard Stone, Head of Marketing, UK & IRE – Arkadin
office-based service.
A major factor in working from home is the notion of cloud computing and online collaboration. For many businesses, documents and resources can easily be stored on remote third party servers for global access by anyone with a secure login. Using remote collaboration services means an employee can work on a file from anywhere in the world, and check databases or other information while on the road. Collaboration technology such as on Google Docs even allows several people to edit the same document at the same time, while discussing it in a virtual meeting. Services like Arkadin Express provide a contract-free contingency teleconferencing service when vital meetings have to be cancelled at short notice due to travel problems. Remote IT services also reduce the need for large office-based servers, meaning a saving on space and money in power and maintenance bills. But a great deal of administration still needs to take place, particularly with large databases or with large offices which still need in-house servers or huge internet connection facilities to cope with the remote connections. The onus lies with facilities managers to make the connection
between the physical office and the virtual one, and make sure that a business can transition smoothly into a future where an employee can attend meetings and work from wherever they are, not just from in the office. In serviced offices, providing pre-defined remote teleconferencing and file access solutions can be a real value- added service for small businesses, and will pay dividends in ensuring a business can continue to function in whatever circumstance.
About Arkadin:
Arkadin is a leading global provider of remote collaboration solutions (audio, web and video conferencing services). We understand that communication is vital to any business and provide customisable, cost-efficient, and user friendly solutions. Founded in 2001, Arkadin is one of the fastest growing global conferencing providers delivering annual growth of 65% over the last 5 years. Operating locally in 26 countries with 700+ employees, Arkadin has more than 9,000 customers across Asia, Europe and North America including Renault, Areva, Valeo, Saint Gobain, Arcelor Mittal and Adecco. For further information please visit:
www.arkadin.co.uk
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