ASBIS Middle East, a subsidiary of ASBISC Enterprises PLC recently celebrated the 32-year anniversary of its distribution partnership with Seagate, a prominent manufacturer of storage solutions. Notably, Seagate was the first global IT vendor with whom ASBIS signed a distribution agreement in 1992, marking the start of a longstanding and successful collaboration between the two companies.

The anniversary event was held on the 25th of June at the Doubletree by Hilton hotel in Dubai. The event comprised several elements, including presentations by Arnab Majumdar, Country Manager – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Seagate, who showcased the latest solutions offered by Seagate. Additionally, Mr. Hesham Tantawi shared a summary of the principal milestones achieved by the two companies in their partnership. The event also included contributions from Mohit Pandey, Head of Sales META at Seagate Technology, and concluded with a celebratory cake-cutting ceremony with 200 valuable partners.

Over the past three decades, ASBIS has delivered impressive outcomes for its partners and upheld its status as the primary Seagate distributor in the EMEA region. The collaboration has progressed from distributing standard HDD, SDD, and external drives to incorporating more intricate and advanced solutions.

Vertiv introduced the new, highly efficient Vertiv Liebert PDX-PAM direct expansion perimeter units with low global warming potential (GWP) and non-flammable R513A refrigerant. Available now in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the system is designed to operate with an eco-friendly refrigerant (as compared to legacy refrigerants) to enable increased efficiency, reliability and maximum flexibility of installation.

Liebert PDX-PAM allows data centre owners to comply with the EU F-Gas Regulation 2024/573 and enables their pressing sustainability goals. The non-flammable R513A refrigerant provides up to a 70% GWP reduction when compared to the traditional R410A, without compromising safety or reliability. No additional safety devices are required, as is the case for units using flammable refrigerants, enabling reduced installation costs and CAPEX.

“In an era where efficiency and reliability are paramount, we recognize the urgent need for eco-friendly alternatives to stay ahead of regulatory requirements and provide our customers with state-of-the-art innovations,” stated Karsten Winther, president for Vertiv in Europe, Middle East and Africa. “With this new solution, we’re not just addressing our customers’ current sustainability objectives; we’re actively innovating and advancing the future of cooling technology and setting new heights for efficiency and reliability.”

Liebert PDX-PAM is available from 10 kW to 80 kW with a wide range of airflow configurations, options and accessories, making the unit easily adaptable to various installation needs, from small to medium data centres including edge computing applications, UPS and battery rooms. In conjunction with the Liebert PDX-PAM units, a wide choice of cooling solutions is available for managing heat rejection externally, depending on the specific system configuration.

Vertiv is leading in innovation and raising the technology threshold with Liebert PDX-PAM , a low-GWP, non-flammable R513A refrigerant solution with inverter-driven brushless motor compressors, staged coil design with an innovative patent-pending filter, electronic expansion valves and state-of-the-art electronically commutated (EC) fans, all included as standard features. The integrated Vertiv Liebert iCOM controller enables seamless synchronization of these components, allowing complete modulation of performance. This way, the Liebert PDX-PAM unit can adapt to changing operating conditions and heat load efficiently and reliably. The full continuous modulation capability significantly reduces the annual power consumption, resulting in a more cost-effective solution, thanks to the enhanced part load efficiency and precise monitoring of the machine’s operation, facilitating performance tracking and more timely and effective maintenance, thereby creating opportunities for predictive maintenance actions.

“The introduction of low GWP refrigerants for direct expansion systems marks a significant advancement in sustainable air-cooling technology,” said Lucas Beran, research director at Dell’Oro Group. By utilizing low-GWP and non-flammable refrigerants, Vertiv complies with EU F-Gas Regulation requirements and aims to reduce carbon footprints without compromising on safety or efficiency. This innovation is significant for data center operators aiming to achieve their sustainability goals while maintaining high operational standards.”

The third edition of Bentley Motors’ Extraordinary Women initiative has concluded with students from universities in the UK and Qatar spending a week at the luxury car brand’s headquarters in Crewe, England. As part of a specially designed schedule, they met with Bentley experts and executives, went behind the scenes of its manufacturing operations, and tackled individual tasks.

Designed to encourage and develop the next generation of young female leaders, the 2024 edition of the Extraordinary Women programme has seen the students receive one-on-one mentorship over the past three months from a selection of inspirational Pioneers from the fields of technology, engineering, design, and business.

The students, who passed through a structured selection process focused around these four specific fields, came from a variety of participating universities: including The University of Doha for Science and Technology in Qatar, and the Universities of Bath, Loughborough, and Manchester Metropolitan in the UK.

Noora Al-Hajri, University of Doha for Science & Technology student, commented, “This experience has been nothing short of life-changing. Through the programme, I have gained invaluable knowledge and skills that will significantly impact my personal and professional growth. The opportunity to learn from inspiring mentors in both Qatar and the UK has been particularly enriching. Their guidance has broadened my horizons, challenged me to think critically, and empowered me to pursue my dreams with renewed confidence. The opportunity to visit the Bentley headquarters at the end of the programme has also been truly awe-inspiring. Thank you, Bentley, for believing in us and for creating such a transformative programme.”

The Pioneers were equally carefully selected. In the UK, entrepreneur Sara Davies MBE, founder and owner of Crafter’s Companion and TV personality from BBC One show Dragons’ Den, provided business mentorship, with Cecilia Harvey, founder of Tech Woman Today, offering the same in the field of technology.

Titi Oliyide CEng MIET, Senior Process Safety Engineer and winner of the 2023 Young Woman Engineer of the Year, mentored the engineering student, and renowned interior designer and Founder of Studioilse, Ilse Crawford provided design support.

The four Qatari Pioneers included Qatar’s UNESCO art ambassador, Muna Al-Bader, in the field of design. Dr Noora Fetais Al Marri, honoured by the Arab Women of the Year 2024 awards for her contributions to cyber security. Education and founding President of the Arab Association for Cyber Security, offered technology mentorship.

Covering the field of engineering was Dr. Hanan Farhat, founder of the Qatar Association for Women Engineers, and Dr. Buthaina Al Ansari in the field of business, who is a senior advisor at the organisation that established Tamkeen Training and Consulting Solutions.

Member of the Board for Human Resources at Bentley Motors, Dr. Karen Lange, commented, “With every year, the Extraordinary Women programme grows stronger, as exemplified by the quality of this year’s Pioneers, all who have generously given their time in the spirit of collaboration as we seek to build a legacy for young women. It has been a great honour to meet and engage with such talented young women during their visit – witnessing their energy and ability fills me with great optimism for the future.”

Launched in the UK and Middle East in 2022, the Extraordinary Women initiative has previously engaged students and Pioneers from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. It forms part of Bentley’s wider commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion under its Beyond100 strategy, and was created to encourage women to explore a variety of career paths in the STEM and automotive sectors.