Dubai Office IT Infrastructure Benchmark: What 10, 20, 50 and 100-Person Offices Need
A planning model, not a price survey: data points, network, devices, security, backup and support for four Dubai office sizes.
Part of our guide to New Office IT Setup.
This is a scope benchmark, not a price survey. Using stated planning assumptions, it sets out the IT infrastructure a 10, 20, 50 or 100-person Dubai office typically needs: data points, network, Wi-Fi, devices, Microsoft 365, security, backup and support. It is Listonics' planning model, not collected market data, and it contains no prices.
Key takeaways
- This benchmark is a planning model built on assumptions you can change, not a survey of what Dubai offices install or spend.
- With two data points per desk, a 20-person office needs 40 desk points before meeting rooms, printers and access points are added.
- Access point numbers come from a Wi-Fi survey of the real floor plan, never from a per-person rule.
- Every size needs the same security foundation: a business firewall, separate staff and guest networks, multi-factor authentication and endpoint protection.
- Backup and support scale with size, from cloud backup and remote help for small teams to a NAS with an off-site copy and scheduled on-site visits for larger offices.
What is this office IT benchmark, and what is it not?
It is a scope benchmark: a structured view of the IT infrastructure four typical office sizes need, derived from planning assumptions stated in this post. It is not a price survey, and it contains no prices, averages or market statistics.
People planning a move usually want to know what an office of their size needs before they ask what it costs. This benchmark answers the first question, so the second can be answered properly with a survey and an itemised quote. For how those quotes are built and compared, read the new office IT setup cost guide.
The model reflects how Listonics scopes new offices. Change any assumption to fit your business and the counts change with it; that is the reason for stating them openly.
Methodology and assumptions
Every count in this post comes from the assumptions below using simple multiplication. None of it is collected market data, and none of the values is an industry standard. Where a number cannot honestly be derived from assumptions, as with Wi-Fi access points, it is left to a survey. Points for CCTV, door access, reception and spare capacity are added on top of the counts.
| Assumption | Value used | Change it if |
|---|---|---|
| Desks | One desk per person | Staff hot-desk, work hybrid or share shifts |
| Data points per desk | Two | Desks need extra wired devices |
| Meeting rooms | One for 10 people, two for 20, four for 50, six for 100 | You meet clients often or run training |
| Data points per meeting room | Two, for the screen and conferencing | Rooms are large or need table connections |
| Printers | One for 10 and 20 people, two for 50, four for 100 | Teams print heavily or sit on several floors |
| Data points per printer | One | Printers connect over Wi-Fi only |
| Devices | One laptop and one monitor per person | Some roles need desktops or dual screens |
| Email and files | Cloud-first on Microsoft 365, no on-site server | Software or large files must stay on site |
| Access points | Not assumed; set by a Wi-Fi survey | Never; always survey |
How many data points and how much network does each office size need?
Data point counts follow directly from the assumptions: desks multiplied by two, meeting rooms multiplied by two, plus one point per printer. One cable per surveyed access point is added afterwards.
As counts rise, cabling quality matters more. CAT6A supports 10GBASE-T to 100 m and copes better with bundled power-over-Ethernet cables for access points and cameras; the CAT6 vs CAT6A comparison explains when the upgrade is worth it.
| Office size | Desk points | Meeting room points | Printer points | Points before access points | Network core |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 people | 10 × 2 = 20 | 1 × 2 = 2 | 1 | 23 | Business firewall, PoE switching sized to patched points, wall-mounted rack with UPS |
| 20 people | 20 × 2 = 40 | 2 × 2 = 4 | 1 | 45 | Business firewall with a failover line, PoE switching, rack with UPS |
| 50 people | 50 × 2 = 100 | 4 × 2 = 8 | 2 | 110 | Firewall with failover, switch stack, separate networks for staff, guests, printers and cameras, cooled comms room |
| 100 people | 100 × 2 = 200 | 6 × 2 = 12 | 4 | 216 | Firewall with failover, larger switch stack, several network segments, cooled and monitored comms room |
How many Wi-Fi access points does each office size need?
This benchmark deliberately gives no access point count. The right number comes from a Wi-Fi survey or predictive design of the actual floor plan, because two offices with the same headcount can need very different coverage.
Each surveyed access point adds a cabled point to the counts above, powered from a PoE switch. The Wi-Fi installation guide explains how the survey works. The factors that change the number include:
- Layout: open plan, private offices and the number of meeting rooms.
- Building materials: glass partitions, concrete cores and lift shafts.
- Density: how many people and devices sit in one area, especially in meeting rooms.
- Bands and channel planning, and the neighbouring networks common in Dubai towers.
- Ceiling height, mounting positions and areas such as storage rooms or terraces.
What devices and software does each office size need?
Device counts follow the one laptop and one monitor per person assumption, and Microsoft 365 licences follow users. Each meeting room also needs a screen and conferencing equipment, so plan for one, two, four and six rooms respectively.
As offices grow, a small pool of spare laptops for new starters and repairs saves days of waiting, and device management becomes essential rather than optional.
| Office size | Laptops and monitors | Printers | Microsoft 365 user licences | Device management |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 people | 10 of each | 1 | 10 | Intune enrolment recommended |
| 20 people | 20 of each | 1 | 20 | Intune enrolment with standard device profiles |
| 50 people | 50 of each | 2 | 50 | Intune with role-based profiles and app deployment |
| 100 people | 100 of each | 4 | 100 | Intune with role-based profiles, app deployment and structured onboarding |
What security baseline does each office size need?
Every office needs the same foundation whatever its size. Larger offices add layers because there are more people, devices and admin accounts to control.
Baseline for every size
- A business firewall on current firmware, with remote administration restricted.
- Separate staff and guest Wi-Fi, using WPA3 where devices support it.
- Multi-factor authentication on every Microsoft 365 and admin account.
- Endpoint protection, disk encryption and automatic updates on every laptop.
- Admin credentials kept in a password manager the company controls.
10 and 20-person offices
Add device management so a lost laptop can be locked or wiped, and Conditional Access policies that block sign-ins from unmanaged devices where the business allows it. Keep admin rights off everyday accounts, and make sure the Microsoft 365 tenant and domain belong to company accounts rather than one person's login.
50 and 100-person offices
Add separate network segments for printers, cameras and door access, email security filtering, dedicated admin accounts, access reviews whenever people join or leave, and centralised monitoring with alerts. Firms handling confidential client data should confirm their specific obligations with their own adviser.
What backup approach and support model fits each office size?
Backup and support scale the same way: small cloud-first offices need little on site, while larger offices need a local backup target and more scheduled on-site time. Whatever the size, test restores on a schedule, because a backup that has never been restored is only an assumption. Our post on backup that actually restores explains how to test it.
| Office size | Backup approach | Support model |
|---|---|---|
| 10 people | Microsoft 365 data backed up to a separate cloud service; laptop files synced to OneDrive | Managed support per user: remote helpdesk, monitoring and on-site visits when needed |
| 20 people | Microsoft 365 backup, OneDrive sync, and backed-up firewall and switch configurations | Managed support with monitoring, patching and agreed on-site visits |
| 50 people | Microsoft 365 backup plus a NAS for large or local files, with an off-site copy | Managed support with scheduled on-site visits and one contact for changes and new starters |
| 100 people | Microsoft 365 backup, a NAS sized for current data plus three years of growth, an off-site copy and scheduled restore tests | Managed support with regular scheduled on-site time, or co-managed support alongside an in-house IT lead |
How should you use this benchmark for your own office?
Use it to check a proposal, not to replace a survey. Put in your own headcount, meeting rooms and printers, recalculate the points, then compare the result with what a provider has scoped. The new office IT checklist shows when each decision needs to be made.
- If a proposal's data point count is well below your recalculated figure, ask what was left out.
- If no Wi-Fi survey is mentioned, ask how access point positions were chosen.
- Check that security, backup and documentation appear as line items rather than unstated assumptions.
- Confirm that ongoing support is scoped separately from the setup project.
How Listonics helps with office IT infrastructure planning
Listonics uses this planning model as a starting point, then replaces the assumptions with facts from a free site survey of your space. The result is a fixed-scope, itemised proposal for cabling, network and Wi-Fi, devices, Microsoft 365, security and backup, with support after go-live as a fixed monthly fee per user or per device. Engineers work on site across Dubai, managed plans include 24/7 monitoring, and at handover you receive a network diagram, asset register, account list and port map. See the new office IT setup service or book a free office IT assessment.
Frequently asked questions
No. It is Listonics' planning model, built from stated assumptions such as one desk per person and two data points per desk. It is not collected market data and makes no claim about what other offices install or spend. Change the assumptions to match your business and recalculate the counts.
Using this benchmark's assumptions, 110 before access points: 50 desks at two points each gives 100, four meeting rooms at two points each gives 8, and two printers add 2. Then add one point per surveyed access point, plus CCTV, door access and spare capacity for growth.
Not necessarily. This benchmark assumes a cloud-first setup on Microsoft 365, with a NAS for large local files and backup. An on-site server makes sense when business software must run locally or files are too large to work with from the cloud, and a survey should confirm which applies.
Because no honest rule links headcount to access points. Coverage depends on layout, glass partitions, concrete cores, how densely people sit, neighbouring networks and the bands in use. A Wi-Fi survey or predictive design of the actual floor plan sets both the number and the positions.
No. It is a scope benchmark only. Listonics does not publish prices, because cost depends on survey findings, the condition of the space and the equipment chosen. The scope counts here help you compare itemised quotes line by line once you have them.
The network becomes layered. A 50-person office in this model needs a cooled comms room with a UPS, a switch stack, separate network segments for printers and cameras, email security and a local backup target such as a NAS. Support also shifts from mostly remote help to scheduled on-site visits.
Published Sep 14, 2026 · Last reviewed September 13, 2026 · 1,781 words
