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Is the search for data centre talent a threat, asks BCS

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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Continuing unprecedented growth in the datacentre sector is centre may be at risk due to increasing concerns around scarce resource and rising labour costs.

That’s according to the latest industry survey from Business Critical Solutions (BCS), a specialist professional services provider to the international digital infrastructure industry.

The Winter Report 2020, now in its 11th year, is undertaken by independent research house IX Consulting, who capture the views of over 300 senior datacentre professionals across Europe, including owners, operators, developers, consultants and end users. It is commissioned by BCS, the specialist services provider to the digital infrastructure industry.

Just over two-thirds of respondents believe that the next year will see an increase in demand, up on the 55% from our previous summer survey. This is supported by over 90% of developers and investor respondents stating they expect to see a further expansion in their data centre portfolio over the coming year.

However, concerns are being raised by many Design Engineering and Construction (DEC) respondents around general shortages amongst design, construction and operational professionals with four-fifths expressing resourcing concerns. DEC respondents identified build professionals as being subject to the most serious shortages – 82% stated this view compared with 78% for design professionals and 77% for operational functionality of data centres.

When asked to rank the impact of this our respondents highlighted the increased workload placed on their existing staff (96%),  rising operating/labour costs (92%) and over 80% indicating that this has led to an increase in the use of outsourcing options over the past 12 months. The increased workload for existing staff had in turn led to problems in resourcing existing work, with just over 70% stating that they had experienced difficulties in meeting deadlines or client objectives.

James Hart, CEO at BCS (Business Critical Solutions), said: “At BCS we are currently doing the round of careers fairs looking for candidates for next year’s graduate and apprenticeship scheme. When we are talking to these young people we often find that they either haven’t even considered our sector and/or they have misconceived ideas about what this career path involves. We can address this by going into universities, colleges and schools telling STEM graduates about the data centre industry and how great it is. Without action, this these issues will  become more acute, so the rallying cry for 2020 is that the sector is an exciting place to be and we have to get out there and spread the word!”

5 Minutes With… James Hart, Business Critical Solutions

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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For the latest instalment of our IT executive interview series we sat down with Business Critical Solutions CEO Jim Hart to talk about his company, industry issues, opportunities and what Peaky Blinders means to the Black Country…

Tell us about your company, products and services

Privately owned, BCS is the only company in the world that is dedicated to optimising digital infrastructure across the globe for our clients. We offer consultancy services, including project management, cost & commercial management and business strategy, across the development, implementation and operation of the IT asset lifecycle and have delivered 1,500mW of IT load of mission critical data centre space in every continent. Our 100% record of repeat business is testament to the quality of our solutions and we nurture the strength and longevity of our client relationships.

What have been the biggest challenges the industry has faced over the past 12 months?

Our recent European wide survey highlighted concerns that a shortage of sufficiently qualified professionals at the design and build stages will cause a bottle neck, with 64% of data centre users and experts believing there is a lack of skilled design and delivery resource.

And what have been the biggest opportunities?

As we see the greater adoption of the Edge there will be deployments of much smaller facilities on a multiple scale. We see that as a real opportunity as it is about managing an ongoing and overarching programme rather than a single project. While the hyperscalers will still be there, we believe this change will start to redefine a data centre going forward. The edge of the network will continue to be at the epicentre of innovation in the data centre space and we are seeing a strong increase in the number of clients coming to us for help with the development of their edge strategy and rollouts. 

What is the biggest priority for the industry in 2020?

The industry will continue to come under pressure from a resource perspective, there is a real lack of new talent coming to the market. We’ve got to start training and become ambassadors for the industry by going in to universities and telling STEM graduates about the data centre industry and how great it is – it’s an exciting place to be and we have to get out there and spread the word. Going into 2020, this issue will become more acute.

What are the main trends you are expecting to see in the market in 2020?

Into 2020 we expect distributed cloud infrastructure to drive edge computing. Allied to the advent of 5G, Edge will start to gain real traction as organisations require near-instant access to data and computing power to serve their customers, and they are increasingly looking to edge computing to provide a suitable infrastructure.

What technology is going to have the biggest impact on the market next year?

The adoption of serverless computing. Serverless computing is predicted to be one of the biggest developments in the cloud space, however, the serverless transition would require a strategic approach. Moving to serverless infrastructure requires an overhaul of traditional development and production paradigm, meaning outsourcing the entire infrastructure to the cloud

In 2023 we’ll all be talking about…?

We will be talking about high-speed mobile internet, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and cloud technology which are set to spearhead companies’ adoption of new technologies and they will look to machine learning and augmented and virtual reality for considerable business investment.

Which person in, or associated with, the industry would you most like to meet?

The person at CERN who one day thought ‘we haven’t got enough compute power, I know, let’s ask the world if we can borrow their unused processing capacity’, along with downloadable books, one of the first examples of an embryonic cloud.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learnt about the sector?

When I first entered the sector, certainly for the first 15 years, it was very conservative with the rate of change very slow. The rate of change over the last 5 years or so has increased exponentially and what is sure one day is no more the day after. 

You go to the bar at the Security IT Summit – what’s your tipple of choice?

A cold pint.

What’s the most exciting thing about your job?

Being at the forefront of change and forging trends.

And what’s the most challenging?

Change.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

A quote from Ghandi which was along the lines of ‘live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.’

Peaky Blinders or Stranger Things?

Peaky Blinders, you can’t beat a bit of stylised gangsterism from the black country!