By Eamonn Ryan
At the 2026 Pan African Data Centre conference, Georges Dubien, MEA regional director for Boreas and EXAGATE, set out how the group is positioning itself as a specialist in high‑density, energy‑efficient data centre cooling across the Middle East and Africa.
Georges Dubien, MEA regional director for Boreas and EXAGATE.
© RACA Journal
Back at the event for the second year running, Dubien describes Pan African as “a great event” and central to his market‑entry strategy. While the show remains as busy as last year, he notes a shift in audience: previously, he met more data centre‑dedicated end users; this year, the mix includes more visitors who are not the final client. That makes distribution partnerships even more critical to his plans.
High‑density cooling and thermal management
Boreas, a Turkish manufacturer, focuses on white‑space cooling for data centres, offering:
- CRAC/CRAH units
- In‑row cooling
- Fan wall units
These solutions span from 3kW to 20kW per rack, enabling support for both traditional and high‑density computing environments. Designs are tailored to local climate and project conditions, with Dubien emphasising that solutions for Saudi Arabia and Africa cannot be identical from a thermal management standpoint.
EXAGATE adds environmental and thermal monitoring, integrating:
- Temperature, humidity, leak detection, airflow and air‑velocity sensors
- A unified controller that exports data to software over standard protocols
For extremely high densities, the portfolio includes rear‑door cooling solutions up to 50kW per rack and fan wall units scalable to around 500kW, alongside three‑phase PDUs up to 100 A for dense IT loads.
Efficiency, standards and sustainability
Over the past year, the group has concentrated on improving efficiency and reducing power costs, a priority for MEA operators facing both price pressure and sustainability targets. Dubien links cost control directly to “going green”, aligning designs with:
- ASHRAE thermal guidelines
- ISO certifications
- Eurovent certification for air‑handling and cooling units
- Requirements of TIA‑942 and uptime‑related standards
The strategy is deliberately long‑term: build visibility, validate technology, and secure a strong distribution channel. His primary goal at this year’s Pan African is to find that partner who can help translate technical strengths into scalable business across MEA.
