FOCUS MIDDLE EAST SKILLS
Issue 13, Dec 10/Jan 11
FOCUS UPDATE: MEA SKILLS
SKILLING THE MIDDLE EAST A new workforce is rising in the Middle East, trained locally in the finer details of data center design, operations and IT, as Penny Jones discovers
large number of expats working in data center operations and IT roles across the region. Jordan has even grander plans. President of JUST Dr Wahji Owais says Jordan wants to promote itself as not only the gateway to the Middle East and Africa but as a major exporter of ICT products and services.
DatacenterDynamics Datacenter The data center industry is growing in the Middle East, as attendance at the DCD event in Riyadh this year shows F
or decades now, students from the Middle East have travelled abroad to get vital skills required to work in IT and, more recently, to get jobs in
data center operations. Unfortunately, many have had to stay abroad to gain employment.
Now, as economic growth spurs data center development and the industry begins to mature in the Middle East, the region is starting to become recognized as its own market, developed enough to call for its own highly skilled workforce. The growth of training courses in the region is testament to this.
From Doha to Jordan, universities, vendors and training organizations, including DatacenterDynamics (DCD), are moving in to the Middle East to set up courses.
DCD will be holding its first Middle East independent training course in Doha on 14 December, and toward the end of July it will hold a course in Dubai. Both will be focused on issues surrounding data center design. Courses on energy efficiency, air conditioning and electrical infrastructure design will follow.
At a recent event, Juniper told DCD it was holding training courses for working with its products in the Middle East, and IBM has set up a partnership with the Jordan University of Science and Technology to provide technology and services for a Center of Excellence for Service Science Innovation at its campus. IBM says the programs will help develop skills required to promote cloud computing in the region.
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www.datacenterdynamics.com A NEW LAND OF OPPORTUNITY
There is little surprise that so many eyes are on the Middle East at the moment. The region’s telecommunications, banking and airline
businesses are booming, and
government, when it comes to IT, is not far behind, with e-government projects on the cards in many regions.
IBM Software Group business unit executive Bashar Kilani says governments and businesses are also looking into data center consolidation. “The Middle East has an ambitious market,” says Kilani, who has helped IBM set up the cloud computing course at Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST). “The UAE and Saudi Arabia are spending a lot on IT, and they are getting the latest and greatest in technology. You have a Tier IV data center in Abu Dhabi, and everyone wants their data center to provide a higher quality of service.
“The Middle East has now started introducing science into the school curriculum. I think the governments are starting to say, ‘if you want to leap frog and compete globally, you need to introduce the culture of services and science into skills’.”
One of the reasons cloud computing initiatives are on the rise is standardization, which has also gained a lot of traction in the region.
THE SHIFTING WORKFORCE
IBM is working with JUST to develop and present cloud computing training that focuses on hardware services. The result, Kilani says, will be a new local IT skills base that will replace the
Training
Services general manager Greg Sherry says the local market is eager to take control of its workforce and create opportunities for local jobs. This is where skills, especially in the area of data center development and operations, are vital.
“There is a need for skills across all areas of the data center, from the understanding of design to electrical engineering and IT infrastructure,” Sherry says. “A lot of people who have trained in the UK and the US have come back to the Middle East to start their own engineering companies, and they also need staff to fill positions there.”
When it comes to data centers, there is
little surprise that the need for constant training has evolved. Research conducted by DatacenterDynamics has confirmed that training is vital if all data center developments are to be set up and run professionally. At least two-thirds of respondents said most faults in the data center occur could have been overcome with appropriate training.
JORDAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY The university’s campus in Irbid City, northern Jordan, will deliver teaching resources and technology expertise to students with a focus on cloud computing infrastructure. It will be the first facility of its type in the Middle East. IBM will develop curriculum and expertise in services science management and engineering.
DCD PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DCD’s training courses are one of the few to offer independent
input into skills in
the region. To find out more about DCD training in the Middle East, visit www.
datacenterdynamics.com and go to Training.
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