The company had multiple disparate on-premise IT locations, which had become challenging to manage. It recognised the need to consolidate its IT infrastructure as part of a digital transformation strategy and selected us as its partner.
Digital transformation for a global media content provider
Posted on in Case studies
A global provider of video solutions needed to rethink its data centre strategy as part of its digital transformation strategy.
The client and the challenge
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…
A fly in the ointment in the shape of lockdown
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.
“Mobilising to convert the first floor of our facility during lockdown was a challenge for us, but not an insurmountable one. So, against the odds, we developed the design, delivered a purpose-built hall and office space, and installed our client in its brand-new facility by May 2020
What we provided
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.
“Everyone on the Datum team has been absolutely fantastic partners for us, despite the craziness of working with a large-scale start-up like us. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Of particular note
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.
Interested in finding out more?
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.