We ‘Deep Dive’ with Kamel Al-Tawil, Managing Director, MENA, Equinix, who tells us more about life inside and outside the office.
What would you describe as your most memorable achievement in the data centre industry?
Since our establishment in the region over 12 years ago, one of the first goals we sought to accomplish was to implement our fabric platform, which paves the way for businesses to access seamless, on-demand, and scalable connections to their branches, customers and partners across the world.
This was a significant undertaking as it entailed skilfully navigating a complex regulatory environment, raising awareness and forging strong collaborations and partnerships. Though this took two years, we managed to get our fabric connected to the global platform, which has opened an entirely new set of capabilities for our customers – both in the region and internationally.
More recently, the crowning achievement of my work over the last 12 months was the establishment of DX3 – our largest data centre in the Middle East. This International Business Exchange (IBX), which will ultimately represent an investment of over US$100 million, is very much the physical embodiment of our commitment to creating and supporting digital opportunities for Dubai and the Middle East. And keeping with our CSR strategy, we plan for DX3 to be covered by 100% renewable energy.
What first made you think of a career in technology/data centres?
My fascination with tech started at a very young age, with the first tech product to really draw me being my Atari console. So gaming was my first foray into tech, so to speak. It was only later in university that I was exposed to ‘conventional’ IT equipment like the Olivetti mainframes of the time. Admittedly, while good, I certainly wasn’t the best programmer, but with my love for tech already having taken root. I completed my Master’s in Business Studies and Computer Science. This was the foundation for me to then build my career in tech sales and ultimately management and leadership in firms such as AT&T, EMC (now Dell), Oracle and eventually Equinix.
What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position?
I believe a leader’s true position is to serve – the people they manage, their customers and the communities their organisations have the potential to impact. This means being available, approachable and embracing the approach of ‘servant leadership.’
What do you think is the current hot talking point within the data centre space?
A lot of due importance is given to the topics of sustainability, and the new performance demands being placed on chips by compute-intensive applications like AI. I would therefore like to draw attention to an area that is incredibly important but doesn’t receive nearly enough attention – ecosystems.
Thriving in today’s business landscape requires specialised digital infrastructure, services, applications and data. When businesses can find the right partners and connect with them in the right places, they can get the digital capabilities they need without having to build those capabilities themselves. This frees them up to specialise in their core business capabilities while leaving everything else to their partners and service providers.
Today, many types of digital ecosystems exist across regions and industry verticals, but they all have one thing in common: they exist to drive greater business value for all involved.
In the context of data centres, Equinix annually publishes the Global Interconnection Index (GXI) to help business leaders explore how and where digital ecosystem growth is accelerating. To do this, the GXI uses a metric called interconnection bandwidth, which measures the capacity dedicated to exchanging traffic between ecosystem partners inside carrier-neutral colocation data centres.
The 2023 edition of our GXI Index forecasts that interconnection bandwidth will increase at a five-year CAGR of 40% globally. The resultant digital ecosystems can drive greater business value for participants, enabling them to assemble new platforms, embrace new business models, support collaboration and reach (or create) new markets.
How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office?
It’s all about finding a healthy work-life balance which in turn hinges on setting priorities and sticking to them. I’ve found that once you establish a routine – and I’ll use the daily walking of my dog as the example here – you inevitably find the time to keep that going. So, establishing healthy habits is key. That way, even when things get overwhelming, you know you’ll always have something to look forward to, and most often, these activities help you rapidly recharge and then tackle work more efficiently and effectively.
What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in your industry?
The Middle East data centre market is on a clear and impressive upward trajectory. It is a market that is presently estimated at 1030MW – a figure that is expected to double to 2060MW by 2029. This represents a CAGR of 14.80% over the period.
This growth is being fuelled by the region’s growing digital dependence, government initiatives that are pushing for a greater GDP share to be generated by the digital economy and increasing utilisation of resource-intensive applications like AI. At Equinix, we are investing to grow our data centre footprint in the region and have plans to establish additional Equinix IBXs in key cities in the region.
