As 2024 draws to a close, this year marked a personal milestone of a decade of managing data centres for Surrey County Council. Operating our on-premise facilities has been both challenging and rewarding.
As I look back on my time here, I am filled with pride for what my team and I have accomplished. It’s a journey that has been marked by transformation, innovation, and collaboration, all in the pursuit of delivering reliable and cost-effective infrastructure to support critical public services.
Achieving ISO 27001 Certification
One of our first milestones was achieving ISO 27001 certification for the data centres which was a foundational requirement for the organisation's strategic partnership’s objective. We had to build an Information Security Management System (ISMS) from the ground up with a relatively aggressive timescale of 6 months and limited resources.
Despite these challenges, we developed an ISMS that was tailored to the organisation's requirements and successfully achieved certification. Over the subsequent years, it has been continuously improved to meet the changing security landscape and the requirements of the business.
This certification underpins many of the compliance requirements for the wider organisation and provides external validation of our ability to provide a highly available and secure environment for our critical services.
Efficiency and Reliability
A major part of our success over the past decade has been a programme of significant infrastructure upgrades to ensure our services were reliable, efficient and cost effective.
Key parts of the programme involved the replacement of the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems and the cooling infrastructure with modern, energy efficient systems. During these upgrades, we also eliminated single points of failure to further enhance the resilience of the data centres. These upgrades significantly reduced the risk of power-related outages and improved system performance.
Another transformative upgrade was the replacement of the Building Management Systems (BMS). By implementing modern BMS technologies, we gained advanced monitoring over environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and power usage. This enhanced visibility allowed for proactive maintenance, and optimised energy consumption.
This programme has significantly enhanced our resilience, and reduced our energy consumption. This was instrumental in achieving a more sustainable and cost-effective data centre operation, while reducing our carbon footprint which aligned our operations with broader goals for environmental responsibility.
Enhanced Physical Security
Protecting our data centres from a wide range of threats has been a priority throughout the past decade. To ensure the security of our data centres, we undertook comprehensive upgrades to enhance physical security, replacing outdated systems with state-of-the-art solutions.
Our intruder detection systems were modernised to provide advanced monitoring and response capabilities. The fire detection systems were also upgraded to use the latest technologies, ensuring early warning and rapid intervention to reduce the risk of fire related incidents. Additionally, we implemented high-definition CCTV systems and new access control mechanisms to ensure only authorised personnel could enter secure areas.
These physical security improvements have played a vital role in safeguarding critical infrastructure, ensuring the continuous delivery of essential public services, and mitigating risks from both internal and external threats.
Strategic Partnerships
Working with partners has been a key factor in our success and we were able to build strong relationships with internal suppliers, such as property, finance, and procurement teams. Through this collaboration, we developed effective contract management and we were able to both improve service quality and reduce costs.
We also worked to develop relationships with external suppliers and partners to drive continuous improvement in operations, cost and performance. We also maintained relationships with specialist industry groups to understand the latest trends, and assess the suitability of technological advances and new services.
Through collaboration, we were able to offer our stakeholders reduced costs and strengthened the resilience and scalability of their IT services.
One major success was our collaboration with East Sussex County Council and Brighton & Hove City Council. Together, we spearheaded a migration project that consolidated their IT estates into our data centres. This strategic partnership delivered over £3 million in annual savings and demonstrated the power of regional collaboration.
High-Performing Teams
None of these achievements would have been possible without a committed and skilled team. Over the years, I’ve focused on developing technical talent through coaching, mentoring, and structured training programs. Leveraging real-world maintenance activities and simulated incidents, we fostered a culture of ownership and continuous learning.
These efforts have created a team that not only exceeds current expectations but is equipped to deal with future challenges.
The Road Ahead
While the past decade has been filled with accomplishments, I am reminded that the success of a data centre is not just about the infrastructure or technology but about the people, partnerships, and purpose that drive it.
Looking ahead, the data centre industry faces a range of challenges, including emerging technologies such AI and machine learning, ongoing financial constraints, increased supply chain complexities, evolving regulatory compliance requirements, and staffing shortages.
Navigating these complexities will require both strategic foresight and practical expertise. Building strong partnerships, investing in continuous learning, and fostering a culture of innovation can help navigate these complexities. Future success will be about balancing technological advancements with human-centric approaches to ensure sustainable growth and success.