Chatsworth Products Incorporated, or CPI as it is better known, is a networking company steeped in science and research. Its history begins 20 years ago when 90 employees of US communications vendor Harris banded together to buy out the fi rm’s Dracon Division via an employee stock ownership plan.
Since then, Chatsworth has developed its own niche as a provider of IT optimisation equipment. The company expanded out of its native US eight years ago, setting up a direct offi ce in the Middle East three years ago. Prior to this, Chatsworth had sold its solutions through resellers in the region, but until three years back had no headquarters of its own.
“The market demanded some kind of direct representation if we were to move further,” recalls Middle East sales manager Sundeep Raina. The move certainly appears to have paid off : since opening its offi ce in Dubai, UAE, the company has enjoyed regional sales growth of approximately 380%, according to Raina.
Two of the vendor’s specialties are energy efficiency and environmental monitoring tools for enterprise data centres, with Saudi Arabia’s booming resources sector providing a substantial market in this regard. Raina explains that Chatsworth works alongside networking giants including Cisco and Juniper Networks to research and develop infrastructure cabinets and systems that optimise the flow of hot and cold air in data centres.
“The biggest pain points for any data centre manager are heat and power,” says Raina. “To manage that in the optimum way was what we were asked us to do.” Raina says that Chatsworth has an established presence in the UAE, where its customers include the prestigious Meydan racecourse, and the company is keen to grow its share in other markets including Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
By Daniel Shane, Editor of Network Middle East Magazine
This article was originally published in the July 2011 issue of Network Middle East Magazine.