Komandoo Celebrities: Afiz Abdulla
Komandoo’s greatest asset are its team members and among them is also a person who’s been the informal Chief Everything Officer at the resort for over a decade – Afiz Abdulla, IT Manager. Afiz is an essential part of the Komandoo Family and his colleagues and guests have a lot more than solving all those ‘Help, I broke the internet!’ cases to thank him for.
Afiz, from Velidhoo island in Noon Atoll, joined us as a newly-graduate student in 2007 and spent the first year and a half working in housekeeping before being presented with a ‘simple’ challenge: set up an internet network and communications infrastructure. Already possessing a lot of IT knowledge at that point and with some additional training, Afiz successfully helped modernise Komandoo. Rather than still piggybacking on Kuredu’s signal and Wi-Fi being available only at the reception, the coverage was extended to all villas in 2012, and today guests can be online with up to 8 devices and can keep in touch with their loved ones hassle free (and with great speed thanks to fiber optics), which for an island in the middle of an Indian Ocean is not as self evident as one would think! Complimentary Wi-Fi is also available in most public areas, except for restaurants and the pool area to respect guests’ privacy and to cling on to some of that pre-Wi-Fi charm that we believe it’s important to have, especially at such a stunning and relaxing place as the Maldives.
To keep up with guests’ expectations, a series of other improvements have also been put in place: an interactive in-villa IPTV that provides suggestions for things to do at the resort and makes information you may need during your stay handy, as well as 45 channels in many languages and 40 videos on demand for those hours when you simply want to seek shade and enjoy the privacy of your villa.
Afiz also set up the new music streaming system that brings all your favourite tunes to restaurants and bars, he’s responsible for arranging boat transfers, and has recently expanded his area of expertise also to landscaping, so you can look forward to an even better looking Komandoo soon! Afiz is also the captain of the resort’s volleyball team and a member of the fire brigade, an avid football player and Manchester United fan, a snorkeller, an EFR-certified diver and a wonderful colleague. It doesn’t come as a surprise that he received the flattering Ambassador of Komandoo Award in 2017, the only one given so far, for the appreciation of his outstanding services and contributions to the resort.