Bad Publicity

Not a week goes by without at least one press article decrying the building of data centres for a variety of reasons:

·?????? Spoiling the views

·?????? Noise

·?????? Blot on the landscape

·?????? Excessive energy and water usage

·?????? Bringing in overseas ‘tech geeks’

·?????? No employment opportunities

·?????? Illnesses

·?????? Ruining the house prices

?Many of the above points should be addressed through the planning and permitting processes. There are regulations on the hours/days of working on construction sites and the amount of noise that can be generated. The design of the facility, reuse of energy/heat and community outreach should all be mandated at the permitting point. To complain after the event is a bit like ‘shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted’.

Unfortunately, the data centre industry is always on the back foot when it comes to publicity, trying to defend a position which has been blown up out of all proportion by the press. How can these situations be managed more proactively?

?Start by talking to the community about what will be done and how the environment will be protected, share the environmental studies and how the natural environment will be enhanced. Look at what can also be provided for the community, can local sporting facilities be refurbished at no cost? Can the data centre join some of the local sporting leagues, support youth teams with kit etc? How about commitments to training and apprenticeships at the facility and during construction, these are activities that can be commenced prior to construction starting.

However, another analogy that can be used around construction is that you can’t bake a cake without cracking a few eggs or spilling some flour. Yes, there will be tensions when you are building a multi-million dollar/pound/ringgit facility. Some large hyperscale facilities have labour projections of up to 1,500 people on site daily. The logistics around this concern car-parking and transport can cause problems, however, with judicious scheduling journeys to and from site can be outside of the local commute and school run hours. Community tours can also be given of the facility or viewing areas arranged for residents to see what is going on or to voice their concerns.

?It is worthy of remembering that the construction of a data centre is just a large construction project with the associated noise, dust and issues that come with this, it's nothing special or unique (sorry colleagues).

?While it is true that the staffing of a running data centre facility is not extensive, there are many opportunities for local companies to get involved. For instance, during construction the following local services will need to be procured:

?·?????? Site security

·?????? Traffic marshalling

·?????? Cleaning of offices

·?????? Cafeteria provision

·?????? Temporary accommodation provision and services

·?????? Vehicle maintenance

·?????? Tool hire

·?????? Safety equipment

·?????? Apprenticeships / training?

Once the facility is operational there are other opportunities that can be showcased, for example:?

·?????? Site security

·?????? Cleaning

·?????? Cafeteria

·?????? Office work

·?????? Maintenance of plant and equipment

·?????? Training to operate the plant and equipment

·?????? Grounds maintenance

·?????? Project management

?The above lists are not extensive. The number of ‘tech geeks’ employed at each facility is relatively small in comparison to the overall staffing.

?As the facilities are constantly changing there is a need for people to manage the construction processes of alterations as well as small contractors to be able to carry out the physical works. Of course, not everyone in the local community either wants or will get a job at a data centre, however, there are opportunities.

?Consider the wider community benefits that a facility could bring in addition to those mentioned above. There could be increased trade in the local area during the construction phase, all of these people need to eat and drink, with many stopping away from their home during the week to work on the site, so temporary accommodation is also needed.

?Contrary to popular opinion, data centre owners/operators are very mindful of the local community in which their facility is placed and look for ways in which to enhance the community. After all, the community will directly or indirectly use the data centre facilities either through their social networking, banking, gaming, content on demand viewing or the myriad of other activities that happen digitally. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that free high speed internet could be provided to homes and schools in the locality. The training opportunities for early years careers and those transition careers is immense, there are probably over 120 pathways into the data centre industry. www.datacenterpathfinder.com

?As an industry, we need to get onto the front foot and showcase what our facilities are all about and the use people can get out of them. Rather than a ‘Blott on the Landscape’ they are a part of our lives today. If you don’t like data centres, please stop using them, they are only responding to the demand that is generated by the economy.