The introduction of fully managed IT and cloud solutions by our client required an additional data centre capable of providing:

• high-level security;
• unmatched resilience;
• robust connectivity.

These specifications were essential to reliably support the company’s new range of services.

During negotiations, it became clear that we offered not just a facility, but a partnership. This collaboration would be instrumental in supporting our client as they developed their new solutions.

What began as a ‘simple’ consolidation exercise, bringing together IT from disparate locations, became the springboard for the expansion of our Farnborough data centre facility to accommodate our client’s IT infrastructure and key IT teams.

The company initially reviewed various options, including the acquisition of its own data centre facility. Ultimately, however, it opted for consolidating its IT in our facility to mitigate the need for capital investment and benefit from our flexibility, resilience, security, and wraparound services.

To provide our client with the contiguous space it needed for its IT equipment and office space, we embarked on the build out of the first floor of our data centre. This expansion had been in the pipeline for a while, and this was the perfect opportunity to purpose-build an area of our first-floor space to the precise specifications of an anchor tenant. So far, so simple…

When we agreed contracts in February 2020, we were not anticipating the Covid lockdown one month later. And, at this point, some of our client’s leases on its disparate IT locations were coming to an end, so we had an aggressive timeline to work to.

As well as providing a purpose-built hall and office space, our stepped contracts and gradual migration of equipment gave our client the freedom to set up its equipment, implement its own security, and review the various elements of its IT infrastructure as part of a digital transformation process. Our facility served as a secure platform on which the company could consolidate, review, and refine; something it had been unable to when its IT was distributed over multiple locations. Importantly, we also offered flexibility in terms of contracts, footprint, and power, which provided the freedom our client needed to restructure as required.

Working in partnership, we have reached agreements that work for our client and us, including bespoke solutions such as separate containment solutions and satellite dishes on the roof of the facility. And, to complete the installation, we converted a mezzanine level on the first floor into a self-contained office space for its key IT teams. Now that our client is fully ensconced on the first floor, we are continuing to provide support as it takes more space and capacity, including low density space for elements of its bespoke equipment. Most recently, the client has committed to taking a dedicated hall for its exclusive use and has extended its contract until 2030.

This project allowed us to showcase two of our most important strengths:

• Datum as a secure, flexible platform for digital transformation
• Our partnership-working ethos

Merging disparate IT infrastructure against the clock, consolidating it alongside all the required communications links, making improvements to the setup, building out the first floor and developing a bespoke solution in partnership with our client was an extremely challenging undertaking, especially during lockdown. We are pleased to have been able to support our client with this complex process and it is extremely rewarding that our client has been able to completely transform the way its IT is delivered.

Balfour Beatty’s disparate IT infrastructure and multiple storage types were becoming difficult to manage and were hindering its plans for innovation and transition to a digital delivery model. The majority of its IT estate was located across two data centres, with pockets of IT in other locations.

Balfour Beatty wanted to consolidate its IT estate and workloads in one core data centre facility – a ‘landing zone’ that would allow the company to review, rationalise and consolidate its hardware and workloads, and provide a flexible and resilient platform for future development.

Balfour Beatty prides itself on being a responsible, sustainable business, so the reduction in its environmental footprint was a key factor in its decision to consolidate its IT estate and workloads in our state-of-the-art, environmentally efficient facility. Its sustainability strategy ‘Building New Futures’ lays out Balfour Beatty’s plans to reduce the net carbon emissions of its direct and indirect operations to zero by 2040. This means collaborating with supply chain partners and, where possible, selecting those that share its commitment to reducing environmental impact.

By migrating its IT estate and workloads from multiple legacy data centres to our Farnborough site, Balfour Beatty was able to harness significant efficiency and performance improvements. The resources required to run multiple data centre facilities are considerably greater than one purpose-built facility, particularly one that is so focused on efficiency.

Partnering with us allowed Balfour Beatty to enhance its sustainability credentials and reduce the environmental impact of its growing digital footprint:

• Our energy comes from renewable sources and includes full carbon offsetting.
• Our energy efficient cooling, which uses the ambient air, consumes far less electricity than traditional cooling methods.
• Our purpose-built data centre is strictly governed and must obtain and maintain environmental certifications such as ISO 14001 and ISO 50001.

Due to the complexity and scope of Balfour Beatty’s operations, and the importance of avoiding disruption to its business activities, the migration to Datum took place in several stages.

Initially, the entirety of one data centre was migrated to our facility over one weekend. Datum’s team was on hand throughout to support this process and ensure that everything was up and running in time for Monday morning.

Balfour Beatty required a secure area for its public sector IT equipment, so a private cage was constructed. And because Balfour Beatty required flexibility during the amalgamation and consolidation process, we provided an expansion zone that it could call off as and when needed.

IT estate was moved from its second main data centre once the initial migration had been completed successfully.

Balfour Beatty has been partnered with Datum since 2015 and, due to the success of the relationship, contracts were renewed in March 2022.

Now that the initial consolidation and rationalisation is complete, Balfour Beatty has more recently begun to hand back space and capacity as more workloads have been moved to the cloud as part of the development of a hybrid model. The development of a coherent data management strategy, combining on premise with private and public cloud, was a key part of its strategy, and something that is facilitated by the flexibility within our contracts.

Over the years, Balfour Beatty has called on us to provide some of our additional services such as remote hands, tape changes and connectivity provision. In fact, our concierge service, designed to ensure a smoother transition and improved business outcomes for clients moving to Datum, played a part in Balfour Beatty’s choice of Datum as its central data centre provider.

The strength of the relationship between Balfour Beatty and Datum can be put down largely to our ongoing partnership. Balfour Beatty knows that we will work tirelessly to accommodate its requirements to ensure that our colocation solution continues to meet its evolving needs. In turn, we relish the opportunity to support a trailblazing organisation like Balfour Beatty in its bid to improve the efficiency and sustainability of its digital operations.

Datum is a proven platform for digital transformation for enterprise clients and a trusted pure-play colocation partner with an impressive client list including FTSE 250 and Fortune 500 companies. Our partner network delivers the additional services required by our clients to ensure they are supported at every stage. Datum was acquired by the infrastructure fund UBS Asset Management in 2021, a move that supports Datum’s ambitions for future development of its operations, including the further development of its Farnborough campus.

Atmoso was looking for a location outside London from which it could expand its cloud offerings. It already had a presence in major carrier locations inside London and Manchester and was looking for a premium data centre facility outside the City. Datum was recommended to Atmoso by one of our partners. Atmoso came for an initial tour of our data centre and, having been impressed by the quality and evident resilience of our facility, ultimately selected us.

Datum is a proven platform for digital transformation for enterprise clients and a trusted pure-play colocation partner with an impressive client list including FTSE 250 and Fortune 500 companies. Our partner network delivers the additional services required by our clients to ensure they are supported at every stage. Datum was acquired by the infrastructure fund UBS Asset Management in 2021, a move that supports Datum’s ambitions for future development of its operations, including the further development of its Farnborough campus.