Overcoming adversity – three perspectives on the new order of things at Datum during lockdown

Nathan Brown (Data Centre Engineer) on keeping the fires stoked in Datum’s engine room 

As an engineer at Datum, I am still working full time at the Datum facility as part of the on-site engineering team. Our role involves ticket and email checks, site checks, managing client requests, engaging with clients on site and supervising any unescorted engineers on site (where visits are absolutely necessary). We are also responsible for tracking stock usage and preparing the client power usage information for billing and monthly service reviews. Whilst the general foot traffic on site has reduced, our team’s workload has actually increased, mainly due to the increase in remote hands services in order to minimise client visits to Datum. 

In addition to increased/altered workloads, there have also been some changes to the wider site security that have increased workloads for those of us still working on site. Of course, we are all adhering to social distancing measures – something that’s taken a bit of getting used to - but we have kept to our existing shift patterns/hours so that we can continue supporting our clients as well as before. It’s challenging but rewarding!

“Our on-site roles are vital. By being here we can minimise the number of visitors to Datum and facilitate home working for the thousands of staff across all of Datum’s client enterprises.” 

Improvements to Datum’s IT set-up and telephony equipment over the past three years have paid handsome dividends now that ongoing communication between disparate Datum staff is more important than ever. Daily team video calls and seamless and full secure access to all of Datum’s IT systems for remote-working staff means that there has been little to no impact on Datum staff or clients in terms of business operations. 

Once the dust has settled and normality has resumed, I’m excited about focusing more on new client growth and the imminent build-out of the upper floor at Datum. Work aside, I can’t wait to have a few days off, see some family and friends and possibly even venture to Cornwall (apparently, I will have earned it by the time this is all over …). 

Melissa Munday (Datum’s Client Service Manager) on service management from a distance

As Client Service Manager, I am tasked with building and maintaining client relationships and orchestrating service improvements to meet and exceed client expectations. This is an important role for a service-focused business like Datum, and it’s a very varied one; no two days are the same because my workload is driven by client requirements on a daily basis. 

I’m normally office-based and spend my days collaborating with members of the Datum team across all departments to ensure that our clients are receiving the high levels of service they expect from us. My ongoing responsibilities include client calls, ticket tracking, contract management on our CRM tool, notifying finance regarding billing, and processing and publishing service review data and presenting this data to clients. 

The switch to remote working since mid-March has been a fairly straightforward one for me. My office equipment is set up in my home study, so I have been able to continue with my service management role with little or no impact on clients. Whilst face-to-face discussions are clearly out of the question at the moment, I am still able to hold regular update meetings and service review meetings with clients via Microsoft Teams or Ring Central.

My biggest concern when I set up my home office was feeling remote from the rest of the Datum team, but we foresaw this and immediately implemented team conference calls twice a day to keep everybody abreast of the latest developments with datacentre works and client projects. 

“I still miss physically being part of the Datum team – it’s a close team so I miss seeing everyone every day.” 

Unlike so many others, I can’t even say that I am saving myself the daily commute by working at home because I live so close to Datum. But I’m thankful that everything is ticking along so well now that the new routines are in place, even though I’ll be grateful for my ‘normal’ once it has resumed, particularly seeing my colleagues and clients face-to-face and spending time with my friends and family. But, for now, I will always be on the other end of a video link, if you need me ….