Dubai · Middle East · Africa · Southern Europe

Data center design and engineering

Specialist data center engineering for critical facilities.

UBIK works for owners, developers, operators, investors and contractors in the Middle East, Africa and Southern Europe, from the feasibility of a site to the operational readiness of the finished facility.

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01/Lifecycle

Services across the lifecycle of a data center.

Clients appoint UBIK for the whole lifecycle of a facility or for a single stage, from site feasibility to operational readiness.

  1. 01Advisory & FeasibilityTechnical judgement before capital is committed.
  2. 02Design & EngineeringCoordinated MEP engineering for resilient critical facilities.
  3. 03Project & Delivery ManagementTechnical control from procurement to handover.
  4. 04Commissioning ManagementGovernance of factory, site and integrated systems testing.
  5. 05Certification ManagementEvidence-led management of certification pathways.
  6. 06Operations ConsultancyOperational readiness before handover and review of facilities in service.
02/Selected experience

Current UBIK work and leadership experience.

Current UBIK assignments are listed first, with UBIK’s own visualisations of the work in design. The leadership experience of the UBIK principals in earlier roles follows and is labelled as such. Confidential engagements are anonymised.

All projects
Aerial visualisation of the N+ONE data center campus in Casablanca: the existing building with rooftop photovoltaic arrays beside the new extension with its six rooftop chillers, generator yard, perimeter fence and access road
UBIK visualisation · N+ONE, Casablanca

N+ONE CMN, Casablanca

Current UBIK work

Casablanca, Morocco · Tier III · 4 MW IT, phased · 8 MW across CMN and STT

Aerial view of a hyperscale data center campus concept in dry terrain: a large white hall with rows of generator and cooling modules along two sides, an administration building, car park, gatehouse and perimeter road
UBIK design study · AI factory concept

AI factory concept

Design study

Feasibility study, site test-fit and plant arrangement

  1. 01N+ONE AbidjanCurrent UBIK workAbidjan, Côte d’Ivoire · 4 MW IT hyperscale campus, phasedUBIK carried out the preliminary study for N+ONE’s hyperscale campus programme in Abidjan: programming, feasibility and the technical master plan.
  2. 02N+ONE DakarCurrent UBIK workDakar, Senegal · 4 MW IT hyperscale campus, phasedUBIK carried out the preliminary study for N+ONE’s hyperscale campus programme in Dakar: programming, feasibility and the technical master plan.
  3. 03N+ONE CMN, CasablancaCurrent UBIK workCasablanca, Morocco · Tier III · 4 MW IT, phased · 8 MW across CMN and STTUBIK is the owner’s engineer: full architectural and MEP design, construction direction, commissioning management and the Tier III certification pathway.
  4. 04IMICurrent UBIK workEastern Province, Saudi Arabia · Critical infrastructure advisoryUBIK advised International Maritime Industries, a Saudi Aramco affiliate, on the critical infrastructure of its operations.
  5. 05Mantra Data CentersLeadership experienceIndia · Concept design · colocation programmeConcept design of a colocation data center programme for Mantra Data Centers in India, by a UBIK principal in an earlier role.
  6. 06STC Jeddah and MadinahLeadership experienceJeddah and Madinah, Saudi Arabia · Twin Tier III · 3.6 MW IT eachDetail design of STC’s twin Tier III data centers in Jeddah and Madinah, 3.6 MW each, both later certified by Uptime Institute.
  7. 07STC RiyadhLeadership experienceRiyadh, Saudi Arabia · Tier III design certified · 7.2 MW ITDetail design of STC’s Tier III design certified data center in Riyadh, 7.2 MW across phases 1 and 2.
  8. 08Confidential private clientLeadership experienceRiyadh, Saudi Arabia · Tier III · 0.4 MW IT · prefabricated modularConcept design of a 0.4 MW Tier III prefabricated modular data center for a confidential private client in Riyadh, 2017.

Leadership experience: work by Arsmagna, the practice founded by UBIK principal Carlos Garcia Sevilla, in a role outside UBIK.

03/Review areas

Technical areas UBIK reviews, from power topology to operational readiness.

Each area is reviewed against the client’s design basis, the resilience objective and the conditions of the site.

  1. 01Power topology and utility interfacesGrid constraints, redundancy paths, switchgear strategy and expansion assumptions, reviewed as one system.
  2. 02Cooling strategy for hot climatesHeat rejection, water risk, economisation limits and resilience under regional design conditions.
  3. 03Concurrent maintainabilityMaintenance states drawn on the single-line diagram and demonstrated on site with the load supported.
  4. 04FAT, SAT and IST governanceTest structure, witness protocols and issue closure that prove integrated performance.
  5. 05Certification evidenceGap tracking and evidence discipline for Tier, sustainability and client acceptance requirements.
  6. 06Operational readiness and monitoringProcedures, escalation models and monitoring requirements aligned with the facility topology.
04/Basis of advice

UBIK is independent and acts only in its clients’ interests.

The firm works for owners, developers, operators, investors and contractors. Its reviews of design, commissioning and operations rest on the client’s design basis, the conditions of the site and the records of tests and inspections.

  1. 01

    Basis of recommendations

    Recommendations rest on resilience, maintainability and commercial risk.

  2. 02

    Evidence-led assurance

    Design reviews, test governance and readiness checks each close with a record the client keeps.

  3. 03

    Regional conditions

    Advice takes account of the utility, climate, procurement and permitting conditions of each market in the Middle East, Africa and Southern Europe.

05/Reference frameworks

Standards applied in UBIK designs and reviews.

Each is applied alongside local codes and the project brief. Certification is awarded by the relevant body; UBIK coordinates the pathway and the evidence.

Uptime Institute
Tier Standard: Topology and Operational Sustainability
ASHRAE
TC 9.9 thermal guidelines, Guideline 0 commissioning, 90.4 energy
TIA
942 telecommunications infrastructure for data centers
CENELEC
EN 50600 series, data centre facilities and infrastructures
NFPA
75 and 76, IT equipment and telecommunications facility protection
BICSI
002 data center design and implementation best practices
06/Principals

A principal leads every engagement.

The principal on an engagement writes the brief, leads the reviews and signs each deliverable.

About UBIK
  • Portrait of Abdelilah Sidqui

    Abdelilah Sidqui

    Managing Partner

    Co-founder and Managing Partner. Electrical engineer and programme executive, more than twenty years in critical infrastructure across the Middle East and Africa.

    Eleven years at EMC and Dell Technologies in Dubai, leading data center and transformation programmes for government and enterprise clients across the Middle East and Africa.

  • Portrait of Carlos Garcia Sevilla

    Carlos Garcia Sevilla

    Principal

    Architect and data center designer for more than thirty years. Record across carrier, colocation and enterprise facilities in Spain, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and India.

    Founder of Arsmagna, co-founder of Jevons Edge, BREEAM International Assessor and LEED Green Associate.

07/Insights

Articles by the UBIK principals.

All insights

certification / / 6 min read

Tier certification: what an owner is actually buying

This article sets out what each Tier certification verifies, what it does not, and the four decisions about resilience that belong in the design brief.

Carlos Garcia Sevilla

energy / / 6 min read

Energy performance: look beyond a single PUE

PUE is useful when its measurement boundary and load assumptions are understood. This article sets out how to read a quoted figure and what it leaves out.

Carlos Garcia Sevilla

Next step

UBIK takes enquiries at any stage of a project.

An outline of the stage, the location and the question is enough to start. Confidential projects can be discussed without client or site details.

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