SCHNEIDER ECOSTRUXURE POWER
We’re a major tech business in the region, so it has become increasingly easy for us to both attract and retain the staff we need as the business has grown”
on a case-by-case basis, enabling it to incorporate the latest solutions and technologies to flexibly suit any of its customers’ needs.
“From standard co-location to hyperscale, we can work to any requirements,” says Bearne.
“Ultimately, its our mission to offer enterprise corporations and IT service providers with a world- class out of town colocation and IT services hosting facility that offers unprecedented levels of space, power and physical security at significantly lower costs compared to London and the surrounding area.”
Further, enabled by its ever-growing Rapid Build Programme, NGD is able to maintain a leading 16-week delivery timescale on any project, all the while maximising economies of scale and maintaining high quality throughout.
Exceeding standards
The firm’s staff are another crucial element of its success, renowned as some of the region’s leading industry experts.
“Skills shortages are not a huge issue for the company,” explains Bearne. “We’re a major tech business in the region, so it has become increasingly easy for us to both attract and retain the staff we need as the business has grown.”
Able to draw high performers from across Wales and South West England, described by the UK government as the home of the largest density of technology specialists and companies outside of Silicon Valley, NGD’S staff are well versed in dealing with the most complex and evolved data centre issues.
Ecostruxure: Innovation at Every Level
Ecostruxure Power is Schneider Electric’s IOT Enabled Power distribution (medium voltage & low voltage) and management architecture that helps Next Generation Data take advantage of the new energy paradigm to improve people safety, increase reliability and business efficiency all in a sustainable way.
Comprising of three layers of technology, Ecostruxure Power brings benefits around network performance, asset management and energy monitoring, as well as full electrical system control.
Connected products:
The Internet of Things starts with the best things. Our Iot-enabled best- in-class connected products include breakers, drives, UPSS, relays, sensors, and more. Devices with embedded intelligence enable better decision- making throughout operations.
Edge control:
Mission-critical scenarios can be unpredictable, so control of devices at the edge of the IOT network is a must. This essential capability provides real-time solutions that enable local control at the edge, protecting safety and uptime.
Applications, analytics, and services:
Interoperability is imperative to supporting the diverse hardware and systems in data centres. Ecostruxure™ enables a breadth of predicative maintenance, remote services, advanced analytics and 24-seven decision making support.
Providing innovation at every level Ecostruxure deliveries enhanced value around safety, reliability, operational efficiency, sustainability, and connectivity to our customers.
However, the company hires a diverse range of individuals, not only basing its decisions and recruitment on expertise but equally alternative skills, as Jenkins reveals.
“Some of our best people are great not because of their technical nous, but because of their attitude and soft skills,” he states. “There’s a strong argument for hiring the right people and then training them up with the relevant skills – something we actively seek to promote throughout the business with multiple initiatives.”
Spearheading change
Alongside such initiatives, the company invests heavily on bolstering the facility and its capabilities year-on-year, investment that has been fundamental in allowing it to remain well ahead of the curve.
Last year alone, NGD invested over £40 million in the continued development of the data centre and its capabilities, and Jenkins is expecting similar figures for 2019.
“Much of this will go into our expansion plans, but we have also been concentrating on enhancing general facilities for client use, from meetings suites to additional offices, better security, and a new operational centre to better cater to the size and scale of our facilities,” he states.
Equally, with the arrival of the hyperconnected internet of things (IOT) and the rapid rise in cloud adoption, data centre connectivity will continue to become ever-more crucial – a fact that NGD has identified with its recent investments.
Bearne reveals: “Cloud is fast becoming mainstream, and we’ve invested quite considerably in our carrier relationships. We know that a data centre is only as good as its communications infrastructure, so we have sought to focus on this heavily.”
“It is safe to say that the industry