Insight Type: News

What next for data centres in Manchester?

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Our roundtable discussion with techUK

Earlier this year we were joined at our Manchester data centre facility by techUK to host a roundtable event which saw data centre representatives, partners and local authority contacts from across Manchester come together to discuss the important role that data centres play in the tech ecosystem.

Key topics

The session sought to inform and explore the opportunities for job creation, community regeneration, new sustainability initiatives and innovation as follows:

  • Digital infrastructure as an enabler for growth, future employment and inward investment.
  • Skills – the needs of the sector and ways to support this now and in the future.
  • Sustainability – why this matters, what will help and how innovation can assist.

What was discussed?

The roundtable began with Manchester City Council setting out its approach and explaining how this fits alongside its Digital Strategy to engage with businesses and the tech sector. We then moved on to discuss some topics of key relevance to the data centre sector.

Data centre capacity

Data centres are fast growing businesses and are vital in supporting large amounts of the economy – not just the digital economy. The discussion acknowledged that data centre capacity has not kept up with demand, both locally and nationally, as the demand for data grows. This presents a challenge in the form of a lack of data centre space. There are several reasons why this might be happening, including the difficulty faced by data centre operators when trying to find available sites for development that offer adequate fibre connectivity and power. It should be acknowledged that network infrastructure has improved, but there are new challenges in the mix such as sustainability and financing of new data centre projects.

Heat re-use initiatives

Data centre heat re-use, where waste heat is recycled and used for community heating projects, has been utilised in some areas of the country, including a project at Datum’s new Manchester data centre facility – MCR2. However, attendees discussed the difficulties surrounding such projects, and the technicalities behind these difficulties, all of which need further examination to aid the delivery of heat re-use initiatives. There is a need for local authority planning departments to think ahead and work with the sector to understand needs, capacity, and site allocation, and to address the technical implications of these projects.

An interesting theme of discussion within this context was the idea that heat should be seen as an asset, rather than a drawback. Interestingly, data centres improving their own efficiency is helpful for action on climate change, lowering costs and improving power usage effectiveness, although this would impact the heat generated and would hinder heat re-use projects. techUK had just published a report ‘Warming Up to Efficiency’, examining the benefits and drawbacks of data centre heat export in the UK.

All attendees at the roundtable noted that local engagement is key, and that the onus must be put to some degree on the domestic construction sector to enable heat re-use initiatives- if new homes are being developed too far away from the data centres, then heat re-use will be a non-starter.

Job and skills creation

Data centres can and should be seen as a route to leveraging inward investment thanks to their connectivity infrastructures, which aid other businesses, create wider employment opportunities in the tech sector, and act as an anchor for inward investment. Although a data centre may only employ 15 or so people, it will support hundreds of clients, and that ecosystem generates employment.

Speakers acknowledged that there is a similar argument when it comes to skills. Apprenticeship programmes run by some data centre firms are accredited and collaborate with the industry more broadly (not just the data centre sector). These types of jobs exist and can open doorways to learning and to career development across other parts of the tech sector.

Attendees noted a pressure on apprenticeship places for 16-19 year olds and that technical education is devolved to the combined authority – there is a need to provide more alternative routes to jobs and careers and shape this at scale across the whole tech sector.
Data centres may offer a route to inspire and spark an interest in technology careers (particularly when working with educational establishments) and to broaden perspectives by showing how data centres matter to everyone’s everyday lives.

Data centres within local and national government

There is a wider need for local authorities to understand the economic value of data centres, and to communicate this. This would aid the powerful case that Greater Manchester wants to make about international investment and securing deals such as Anglo-Japanese agreements. It also helps the Department of Business and Trade, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and others to share the success of projects and their plans and ambition to be a global science and tech superpower. Similarly, in the north west of England, this complements the cyber specialism and knowledge already in the region and the growth plans for the future.

Local authorities have their own data centre needs, and some have small onsite data centres that impact their own emissions and climate change ambitions. However, there are limits to how much they know about their own heat emissions and future data requirements, which makes it a challenge for local authorities to state how efficient (or inefficient) they are. There’s a business case for moving these racks to data centres not just for sustainability, but for scalability.

The impact of new technologies

The group discussed compute capacity, new types of cloud sharing, the GM One network being built in Manchester, and ownership of a wider digital infrastructure conversation (including data centres).

One attendee noted that AI has exploded as compute power has increased. Large language models are getting bigger, which means data centres becoming more power hungry. With a greater democratisation of AI, more education on the topic, and increased adoption, comes the need to future proof data centres and digital infrastructure to address those changes.

Greater Manchester

Finally, attendees discussed the idea of ensuring that Greater Manchester is a business-friendly place for data centres. While Singapore and Dublin have halted the development of new data centres , this only means that the need moves elsewhere. Managed correctly, data centres can help attract capital to the UK.

The dialogue is only just beginning

Thanks were given to Datum, UBS and techUK for hosting, Manchester City Council, GMCA, LCR and Stockport Council for engaging, and to all attendees.

A desire was expressed to continue this discussion and further the information-sharing and engagement on the economic case for data centres, including planning and skills requirements, existing and potential sustainability work, new opportunities provided by data centres, and other areas of concern for data centres now, and in the future.

To stay up to date with all of techUK’s upcoming events, you can visit their website here.

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Datum shortlisted for three prestigious DCS awards

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One year ... three nominations

We’re proud to announce that Datum has been nominated and shortlisted in three esteemed categories at the upcoming DCS Awards 2024, celebrating outstanding achievements within the data centre sector.

Datum’s triple nomination marks industry excellence

The DCS Awards, now in their 13th year, acknowledge the cutting-edge advancements and exceptional accomplishments in the data centre arena. Datum stands amongst the top contenders, recognised for their client success stories, innovative technology, and notable contributions to the field.

Despite facing significant challenges including sustainability concerns, a looming skills shortage, supply chain disruptions, and the double-edged sword of AI advancements, the data centre industry remains the steadfast backbone of our digital landscape.

This year’s awards offer some new categories to mirror the data centre industry’s evolution, including a greater focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

Categories of recognition

As always, the DCS Awards process began with an open call for nominations, encouraging stakeholders to put forward innovative projects, products, services, corporate and individual achievements within the data centre industry. We’re incredibly proud to have received three nominations and to have been shortlisted as finalists in all three of our nominated categories:

  • Data Centre Consolidation/Upgrade Project of the Year: our Farnborough facility has seen the installation of an advanced, high-efficiency free cooling chiller system. This system significantly decreases water and energy utilisation, reinforcing our dedication to an environmentally friendly operational strategy.
  • Best Colocation Provider Sustainability Innovation of the Year: with an eye on future sustainability, our Manchester data centre construction project (MCR2) will feature heat re-use capabilities. This innovative design will repurpose waste heat to assist local community initiatives, setting a benchmark for eco-conscious developments in the industry.
  • Managed Services / Colocation Project of the Year: our Farnborough free cooling chiller system stands in the spotlight again, to enable us to recycle waste heat to be delivered to local community projects.

Cast your vote

The DCS Awards winners are determined through a public vote, and we invite clients, partners, and industry supporters to participate in voting process. Voting is open until 3 May 2024, and you can have your say via the following voting links for each category:

Please note that votes are validated solely from current business email addresses.

Gratitude and anticipation

Our heartfelt thanks go out to all our clients and partners for their unwavering support – our whole team is looking forward to the award ceremony on 23 May in London and we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for a win on the night.

Join us in supporting innovation and excellence within the data centre sector – every vote counts!

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Sourcing zero carbon 100% renewable electricity for our data centres

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Why Bryt Energy?

As a data centre, we inevitably consume a lot of electricity to power our servers and cooling systems. We wanted to find an electricity supplier that could offer us a sustainable solution while still meeting our high energy demands.

Bryt Energy is part of the Statkraft group, a leading international hydropower company and Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy. Statkraft has over 125 years of renewable experience and spans across 21 countries, developing and operating renewable energy assets, buying and selling energy, and investing 100% of its growth into renewables.

Bryt Energy is a zero carbon, 100% renewable electricity supplier (compared to the UK average of 40.8% of electricity from renewable sources). Their most recent zero carbon, 100% renewable fuel mix comprises 76.4% from wind power, 21.2% from solar power, and 2.4% from hydro power. Bryt Energy’s products have been audited and verified by an independent third party, EcoAct, who have certified that their electricity supply is backed by guarantee of origin certificates (REGOs). This means that we can report our electricity consumption as zero carbon under the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol market-based method.

These REGOs demonstrate that we have procured renewable electricity to match our consumption volumes supplied via the National Grid transmission network and local distribution networks. This is currently the only official method for recognising renewable electricity supply in the UK, as mandated and operated by BEIS – now known as the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero – and Ofgem.

Why renewables – solar, wind and hydro power?

The beauty of solar, wind and hydro power lie in their ability to provide non-polluting energy, with the capacity to generate substantial amounts of electricity. They are also zero carbon and naturally replenishing, which helps us to reduce our impact on the environment compared to using fossil fuels:

  • Solar power harnesses the sun’s abundant energy and captures it on semiconducting materials in solar panels to create an electric current. This renewable source is not only inexhaustible but also avoids greenhouse gas emissions and our reliance on dwindling fossil fuel reserves.
  • Wind power harnesses the natural force of the wind to activate generators to produce electric power. Wind power is becoming increasingly cost effective with advances in technology.
  • Hydropower (or hydroelectric power) harnesses the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water and converts it into electricity. Additionally, hydropower plants often have dual purposes, such as providing water for agriculture and recreation while also contributing to flood control. As such, hydropower remains a critical player in the global transition towards renewable energy.

Ready to redefine sustainability in your IT infrastructure?

By switching to renewable electricity with Bryt Energy, we hope to demonstrate our commitment to sustainability and encourage other businesses in our industry to do the same. As more companies make the switch to renewable energy sources, we can collectively reduce our impact on the environment and create a better future for generations to come.

Connect with us to discuss our resilient, efficient, and sustainable colocation solutions tailored for your critical workloads.

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Introducing our Get Reconnected spring 2024 event sponsor

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Drum roll please ...

We’re pleased to announce that our next tech business networking event – Get Reconnected – will be sponsored by The London Internet Exchange (LINX).

About LINX

Launched in 2012, the London Internet Exchange (LINX) is a leading global provider of interconnections solutions, peering and more. With key hubs across the UK, US, Middle East and Africa, LINX has a global membership of over 900+ networks spanning all major cloud, data communications, telecommunications, financial, and enterprise companies across more than 85 countries worldwide.

The organisation operates LINX Manchester, an Internet Exchange Point (IXP) for the north, where networks meet and keep their traffic local. Datum’s Manchester data centre has been a Manchester PoP (Point of Presence) for LINX since 2019. LINX Manchester celebrated its 10th anniversary last year and has recently tipped the 500Gbps of traffic milestone.

As a not-for-profit organisation, LINX focuses on investing its service and membership fees into strengthening all LINX network services. This ensures that the infrastructure is as up to date as possible and that LINX remains at the forefront of the IXP industry.

About Get Reconnected...

Our Get Reconnected tech business networking events have been running for almost a year. We created these events as a relaxed space for members of the tech community to come together, catch up and reconnect over a few drinks with some good food. No sales tactics or business referrals, just casual business networking for technical and business professionals – whether that be the data centre space, telecoms, infrastructure, cloud, software, or more.

We really encourage our guests to use these events to engage and collaborate with like-minded individuals, and we’ve really seen the momentum build over the past year with over 100 delegates registered to our last event in February. These events are proving to be a great opportunity for the tech community to come together to discuss everything from the latest trends and innovations to business challenges and how we can all work together to make the tech industry even stronger.

We’re attracting some great sponsors too, with Sudlows and Keysource preceding LINX. If you’re interested in sponsoring one of our future networking events, get in touch.

Our next tech networking event

Our spring event, sponsored by The London Internet Exchange (LINX) with take place;

On: Thursday 16th May 2024 at 6-9pm
At: Banyan – The Mezzanine Suite, Spinningfields, Vantage Point, Manchester M3 3PL

Food and drink will be provided by us, so come hungry and ready to network!

Tickets are free of charge and can be ordered via Eventbrite.

Book my free ticket
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Datum at Data Centre World 2024

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About Data Centre World

Last week, we took a team of our most tech hungry colleagues to Data Centre World at the London ExCel. Data Centre World is part of Tech Show London which encompasses five industry-leading events including Cloud Expo Europe, DevOps Live, Cloud & Cyber Security Expo, Big Data & AI World and Data Centre World.

Why we took part

Data Centre World is the world’s largest global gathering of data centre specialists, engineers, innovators and business leaders and we were treated to two action-packed days of ground-breaking tech reveals, insightful talks from global pioneers – including a fantastic keynote delivered by Professor Brian Cox, and plenty of networking opportunities.

This year’s event was bigger than ever with over 15,000 attendees alongside 300+ exhibitors, and it was a big year for Datum too, as our very own COO Matt Edgley took to the stage to speak at two separate panel sessions. We were thrilled to see packed out theatres for both these sessions and received some insightful comments and thought-provoking questions from audience members. Thank you to everyone who joined us.

Day 1 - The Data Centre Dilemma: Building vs Renting - Navigating Risks and Rewards

During this panel, Matt was joined by Villie Xeni, Operations Manager PM for MiCiM Ltd and Chris Orlando, Founder of DDC Cabinet Technology in a session that was moderated by Keysource COO Jon Healy. Together the panel explored the critical factors that organisations must consider when choosing between constructing their own data centre or opting for a leased solution, looking at considerations such as the advantages and risks of building a customer data centre including upfront capital costs, construction timeline, scalability challenges.

Day 2 - DCA Interview : Heat Re-Use (a Case Study)

Day 2 saw Matt join Keysource COO Jon Healy once again, in a session which was focused around our project to build a new data centre in Manchester with heat re-use capability. Facilitated by the Data Centre Alliance, this panel was moderated by David Gyulnazaryan and discussed the ideas and processes behind our new facility – MCR2 – looking at areas such as planning, why we are progressing with a heat re-use project, and who the recipients of our heat re-use scheme will be. The panel also talked about the wider topic of sustainability and the social and environmental benefits of data centre heat recycling – for example, the potential reduction of fossil fuel consumption on a city scale, Energy Reuse Efficiency (ERE) and the financial side of that symbiosis, CO2 emissions savings and the social impact of a stable and reliable source of heating for the local community.

You can watch a recording of these session here.

Data Centre World 2024 provided a great opportunity for our team to join the industry conversation, network with colleagues old and new and take part in insightful debates and discussions around everything from sustainability and data centre design and build, to edge computing, physical security, AI and more … even black holes, quantum computing and the benefits of exploring the universe!

Want to find out more? Get in touch...
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Meet Emily Mahon - Datum's Client Service Manager

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Introducing Emily

As Datum expands, so should our service management provision – our pervasive service culture (the ‘Datum difference’) is an integral part of our ethos and is at the core of what differentiates Datum from other colo providers. Emily joined us six months ago so it’s about time we dug a bit deeper to find out what attracted Emily to our organisation and how she’s finding things at Datum.

Tell us a bit about your role at Datum

As Client Service Manager, my role is to assist with the onboarding of new clients, provide ongoing support and ensure that clients are happy with the services we provide – I realised pretty quickly that the Datum team prides itself on not just meeting, but regularly exceeding client expectations, so I relish the opportunity to ensure client satisfaction over time. My daily duties typically involve tracking and analysing data, along with presenting service reviews to clients.

Why Datum?

I completed an apprenticeship in business administration when I left school and have worked within the IT industry ever since. Before I joined Datum I worked for a theatre company based in London as their senior IT coordinator. This entailed supporting their staff with general IT queries, and managing IT contracts, budgets and relationships with third parties. My previous roles have all required good organisation, time management and speaking with clients/suppliers – which have really helped with my role at Datum.

I wanted to be in an IT environment, but somewhere different to where I had been before, and this job role was a new challenge and something that interested me. The world of data centres was new to me, so the prospect of working in such a different environment was exciting. I sensed immediately that the Datum team was very friendly and approachable, and Vicki (Edgley) was particularly friendly during my first interview, so that certainly helped! I’m hoping to bring a lot of enthusiasm to the business. I am a good team player and felt immediately that I could fit in well. I really enjoy working with everyone in the business – everyone is always willing to teach me new things and help me when I need. The job role is very varied day to day which I love as it keeps me on my toes!

What can Datum's clients expect from the service management team?

Our service management team is central to our service-enhanced colocation provision; a colocation solution that is uniquely aligned to the requirements of individual clients. Our bespoke solutions entail collaboration with clients and partners to ensure that we meet their needs, and include a whole host of service management activities:

  • Onboarding clients and partners to ensure that everything is in place and that their interactions with Datum are positive and productive
  • Working alongside the operations team in service delivery to ensure that all deadlines are met, feeding back any relevant information to clients, and handling any issues as they arise
  • Managing new client relationships. Managing contract information, welcome packs and all the documentation required to make the ongoing relationship with Datum a smooth one
  • Being the first point of contact for all clients and providing support in all its forms. This includes:
    • accountability for all services delivered to clients (Datum’s colo and services provided by third party providers)
    • client communication (such as pre-planned maintenance and general service updates)
    • creation and delivery of monthly service review reports and presenting these in regular service review meetings
    • approving all client charges and monitoring client overages
    • managing the administration of contract renewals
    • involvement on the crisis management team in the event of any major incidents
    • working with the data centre manager on prioritising engineer resources

Is there anything else you'd like to add about your time at Datum so far?

Just to thank everyone for being so welcoming and giving up their time to help me. I like to ask a lot of questions… The first six months have flown by but I feel very confident in my role and am looking forward to seeing what the future holds at Datum.

Talk to us

If you think that moving your IT estate and workloads to a successful and growing service-based colocation data centre is the right thing for your business, please get in touch or arrange a tour of our London edge or Manchester facilities.

Get in touch
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Our annual strategy day: a celebration of togetherness

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A great opportunity for everyone from both sites to come together to celebrate our achievements and bring us even closer as a team.

Last week we held our annual strategy day at the beautiful Ardencote Hotel in Warwick. It was a day that reminded us of the importance of teamwork and collaboration in achieving our goals as we get to grips with what still needs to be done (we have achieved a lot but acknowledge that there is still a lot more to do). And, importantly, it gave us an opportunity to bask in the progress we have made so far – including integrating two companies into one, developing a new brand and launching a brand-new website.

The order of the day

We kicked off the day with a company-wide session during which we reviewed our current position and heard from key people from sales, marketing, and operations who presented their challenges, progress and plans. It was also a chance for the board members to update us on company progress against their overall strategy, and for everyone to come together and celebrate the achievements that we have made together so far. After discussing our achievements over the past year, we moved forward to plan next year’s goals, including objectives, targets, and measures of success that would help us achieve these goals.

The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the two-hour indoor games tournament that followed – it was a real leveller! During this time, we truly saw everyone’s personalities shine through and a fiercely competitive spirit was revealed in some quarters – there was no hiding the drive and determination. The competition may have been fierce, but the atmosphere was friendly and it brought out the best in everyone. Ultimately, the blue team emerged victorious after dominating in the indoor curling, basketball hoops, and table football rounds, to name a few. In the true spirit of togetherness (the theme of the day), we tried not to focus too much on winners or losers – although people brandishing medals did make it hard to forget!

To wrap up the day’s activities, we enjoyed a meal where we could kick back and chat with each other informally. It provided us with an opportunity to strengthen bonds between colleagues who otherwise might not have interacted during work hours. As we toasted to a productive day, we couldn’t help but feel excited for what’s ahead. These meetups aren’t just about shaping the future of our company; they’re about strengthening connections and embracing our team’s dynamism.

For now, we will continue integrating the FRN and MCR teams and collaborating on projects and processes to so we can work as one amalgamated team across our two sites to create a stronger and more unified presence in the market. As a combined business, we can now offer our clients access to enterprise grade colocation in the two most economically active regions of the UK — the south east and the north west — along with a range of additional services including high performance active-active cloud, in-house engineering services, and service management and support — all from our environmentally efficient, carrier neutral data centres, which have been designed to optimise our clients’ business growth and help their businesses achieve their ESG goals.

Finding out more

If you’re considering colocation options for your business, there’s no better time to get in contact. We’re excited to be building two new data centres to cater to growing demand. The construction of the new MCR facility is underway, promising cutting-edge infrastructure and services. Planning is approved for our new FRN facility on our existing site, so construction will begin on that soon. Contact us today to discuss your specific colocation needs and discover how our upcoming facilities can propel your operations forward and fuel your growth.

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2023 – celebrating achievements and looking forward to new opportunities

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We have had an exciting year in 2023 and there were many highlights to celebrate.

As we approach the end of the year, we are taking a closer look at some of the accomplishments that made 2023 such a memorable year for us.

We have made great strides in 2023, marked by several accolades and successful ventures in our bid to provide innovative, resilient, secure and efficient colocation solutions to our clients. As the demand for data centres continues to increase, we remain perfectly positioned to meet the evolving needs of our clients with our ongoing construction projects at our London edge and Manchester sites; two new data centre facilities (FRN2 and MCR2) will be coming online in 2024/2025.

Embedding our multi-site processes

2023 was our first full year as the ‘Datum Group’ and we have very much enjoyed integrating our activities with our Manchester site and learning from each other. This collaborative effort has helped us to provide even better colocation solutions and new opportunities for clients.

Our ten-year anniversary

2023 marked the 10-year anniversary of the official opening of our flagship data centre (FRN1). Our vision of becoming the most energy-efficient and flexible colocation provider is what drove the founding of Datum in 2013. This anniversary milestone gave us an opportunity to reflect on where we have been and where we are going, and it inspired us to keep pushing ourselves to innovate and improve.

Megabuyte award winner

In 2023, we won the prestigious Megabuyte ‘Best Performing Company – IT Managed Services’ Emerging Stars award at the Megabuyte100 awards – our third nomination and first win. This award speaks to the hard work and dedication of our team and symbolises our outstanding performance in the data centre space.

The opening of Hall 4

The brand-new Hall 4 at FRN1 (our flagship facility in Farnborough) was opened in 2023 with 380 rack positions. This state-of-the-art data hall provides a scalable, flexible and secure environment with redundant cooling, power and connectivity solutions.

Our first GRESB rating

We received our first GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) rating of four stars in 2023. It was recognition of the hard work and dedication of the entire team in sustainably managing the operations and promoting ESG practices across our company. It showed the progress made in sustainability and validated the commitment to sustainable practices.

Successful ISO audits

All our ISO accreditations were successfully audited in 2023, displaying our adherence to industry standards and best practices. The audits affirmed our commitment to providing secure, efficient and reliable data centre solutions for businesses.

The launch of our networking event

We launched ‘Get Reconnected’, our quarterly tech business networking event in Manchester. This event brings together IT managers and industry experts to discuss the latest trends, innovations and challenges in the world of tech and, as such, it provides a platform for thought leadership and exchange of knowledge. Register here.

The start of a new year is always a good opportunity to take stock and make changes

If 2024 is likely to bring a move off premise for your company, then we’d welcome the opportunity to discuss your requirements with you.

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60 seconds with… Melissa Hagan

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Describe your typical day at Datum in no more than 20 words.

No day is the same! Client renewals, service reviews and onboarding new clients. The list goes on…

How did you end up in the role you are in at Datum?

I started with Datum as their Business Administrator and quickly moved into service management within the first six months. I was Datum’s Client Service Manager for a couple of years, I then became the Head of Service Management, and now I’m the Client Engagement Director. Having not worked within this industry before, this was a steep learning curve (which hasn’t ended yet). I have always been encouraged by Datum to take on responsibilities that are outside my comfort zone to help me develop professionally – and so far, so good…

Best thing about working in tech?

Learning new things – the industry never stands still.

Worst thing about working in tech?

Getting used to the ever-evolving jargon.

Which one piece of technology could you not live without?

Definitely my sat-nav. Sense of direction is not my strong point.

Which one piece of technology would you ditch into room 101?

Wired headphones – I have never had a set that didn’t break within minutes.

Apple or Android?

Apple.

Describe the Datum team in three words.

Hardworking, committed, friendly.

I had to ask… I’ve heard rumours about an interesting pet. Tell us more…

We recently got a new member of the Hagan family, our Bernese Mountain dog, Remy. He is now seven months old and already weighs 32kg. He’s a gentle giant with a lot more growing to do – he will be around 60kgs when he is fully grown. He has a wonderful personality and his favourite things to do are eat, sleep, have cuddles and play tug of war (in that order).

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Introducing Sam Spencer – our Client Engagement Manager

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Sam joined Datum in October 2022 as Client Services Manager.

She was responsible for client satisfaction and ongoing client support including creating and delivering service reviews, effective communication of any maintenance or client notifications, and delivery on ongoing client satisfaction.

Then, at the beginning of this month, Sam was promoted to Client Engagement Manager. This role entails providing sales and account support to our Manchester client base including following up on sales enquiries, onboarding new clients, contract management, renewals and monthly reporting.

We caught up with Sam to find out about her new role, and her experience of Datum since joining us in 2022.

Why did you choose Datum?

In all honesty, the deciding factor that made me chose Datum was the people I met during the interview process. Coming from an entirely different industry, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to step into the world of IT, especially as I knew nothing about data centres at the time. But I spoke with Melissa Hagan during my initial telephone interview, and she was extremely personable and friendly. I later met other members of the team during the next stage of interviews and everyone I met made me feel comfortable – nobody gave the impression that they were being anything but honest about what it would be like at Datum.

Why did you decide to go for the role of Client Engagement Manager?

One of the (many) attractive things about Datum was that it was made clear to me during the interview process that the company would support my self-development, so I wanted to capitalise on this. I liked the idea of the client engagement role as it allowed me to continue in a client-facing function whilst offering an opportunity to learn new skills and get to know a different area of the business.

What are you hoping to bring to the role?

One of the real differences about Datum is that we are client-centric, which is far from standard in the world of data centres. I’m hoping to bring that focus with me to our Manchester client base and show that we actively work together with our clients to come to develop solutions that work for everyone. I come from a customer care background so I’m hoping I can approach interactions with our clients from a slightly different perspective to help them achieve their goals and support their continued growth.

What does a ‘normal’ day look like for you at Datum?

I’m not sure there is a ‘normal’ day as every day is different. The one thing I can depend on is receiving a large volume of emails! The majority of my time is currently spent working alongside our operations team to ensure that we are communicating with our clients in a timely manner about delivering new orders, service reviews, planned maintenance, client queries and requests, etc.

Which element of your role do you enjoy most?

I think my favourite part of the role is onboarding new clients. This can sometimes be a really challenging part of the role as every client has different requirements; some may have tight deadlines, some may have unusual requests, whilst others may be new to colocation so may need a little extra support. My role is like managing a project start to finish; ensuring everyone across each department is collaborating effectively towards the end goal, and problem-solving should there be any glitches. This is usually a good opportunity to build a relationship with our clients (and first impressions count), so being organised is a must!

What’s it like being part of a growing company like Datum?

As I joined Datum in October 2022, the acquisition had already been announced, so I don’t have the ‘before’ to compare the ‘now’ to. What I have experienced during this time, however, is a real sense of not wanting to make changes for change’s sake, a desire to make people feel valued and to share best practices to improve the company as a whole (not just enforcing the ‘Datum way’ onto the Manchester team).

What’s been your ‘highlight’ so far since being at Datum, and why?

I’d say that there have been two stand-out highlights so far…

Our first whole-team event (Manchester and Farnborough); a strategy day in Warwick followed by team-building cocktail making and dinner. This was our first real chance to get to know everyone in the Manchester team and, whilst it could have felt awkward, everyone really put the effort in and used it as an opportunity to talk to someone they wouldn’t normally have much interaction with. The senior management team really encourage us to be sociable so having the time and space to get to know each other really does help to strengthen working relationships.

The second highlight was our charity walk along the Jurassic Coast. I’ve experienced charity initiatives in previous jobs that felt more like a PR stunt for social media. But Datum actively encourages us to take part in some form of fundraising for the company’s chosen charity (or one chosen by us) and actively supports us whilst we do it. There has a been a real sense of camaraderie in our support of the Samaritans this year; in addition to our Jurassic Coast walk we are taking part in the ‘Samarathon’ (walking or jogging 26.2 miles during July) and most of the team are getting involved. My mum and sister are both volunteers for the Samaritans so I’m really pleased it’s a charity we are supporting – we are already planning our next big charity challenge for 2024.

Interested in joining our team?

Sam Spencer is part of our growing client service team and will be supporting clients at our Manchester facility. Meanwhile, we are currently recruiting for a client service manager at our Farnborough facility (Sam will hand over the reins once this person is in position). Melissa Hagan is Client Engagement Director for the entire Datum Group (currently comprising facilities in Farnborough and Manchester) and oversees our client engagement activities across the group.

To find out more about the colocation services we provide from our sites in the South East and the North West, get in touch and, ideally, book a tour of our facilities.

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