cabling contractor or cabling partner? what 5 years working with vantage taught us about data centre delivery
Data centre cable management solution. Image by dlohner from Pixabay.
When planning a new data centre build, there are many things to consider once you move beyond the already complex design and planning stages. Power, cooling, racks, cabling, FM, access, security, testing, commissioning… we could go on.
Most contractors will treat these elements as a commodity to be delivered. The datacentre operators know they’re more than that. As one of the biggest DC builders in the world, Vantage needs infrastructure partners, not contractors. This article explains how Ocurro rose to meet the challenge of evolving into what Vantage needed.
The evolution required
Structured cabling for an industrial or commercial site could be seen as a commodity sale. Contractors deliver against a plan. Structured cabling into a data centre requires contractors to deliver alongside the plan.
Density requirements, commissioning schedules, and rack layouts can all change, and the operating rhythm you’re required to maintain is on a different level to other cabling projects.
The initial challenge
As BSCL, we delivered complex cabling work on critical projects across a broad range of industries for 45 years. Our sister company, i-Systems, delivered critical electrical infrastructure work to clients throughout the South West of the UK for 20 years. Before we formalised these businesses under one brand - Ocurro - our teams were already experienced and highly capable electrical and cabling contractors.
Our first step into the world of data centre delivery was with Next Gen Data (NGD) at their Newport site back in 2017. During those early months of our relationship we provided a range of services including facilities management, electrical work, and cabling. The briefs were straightforward enough, but when NGD was acquired by Vantage in 2020, things ramped up quickly.
Vantage inherited our relationship with NGD as part of their acquisition but it was the flexibility and reliability of Ocurro’s engineers that caused that relationship to grow exponentially between 2020 and now.
How we work today
From supporting a single UK site, Ocurro now supports Vantage throughout the UK and Europe, providing cabling, smart hands, and rack, stack & patch services through the build and fitout phases of each site. Our engineers and PMs are deeply integrated into Vantage’s operational model. They have become much more than a client, they are the benchmark against which we measure the discipline, precision, and overall quality we deliver to all our clients.
What matters when choosing a cabling partner over a cabling contractor?
When assessing cabling partners for your data centre programme, here’s what really matters beyond case studies and accreditations. This is what we learned from Vantage…
1. Can they hold spec integrity when the spec is moving?
The best cabling partners treat change control as a core discipline, whether down to scope creep or tenant-driven variations. Ask them to describe their last 3 specification changes and how they handled them.
2. Do they operate on your tempo, or theirs?
A contractor works to their availability. A true partner works on your commissioning schedule and RFS dates.
3. Will they tell you when the brief is wrong?
The most valuable thing a cabling partner can do is catch a design error before it becomes an installation error. This requires experience, trust, and a focus on zero-defect handovers rather than charging you again to fix the mistake.
4. Are they willing to stay on site past 5pm on a Friday?
Whilst no one would want to make a habit of this, being willing to flex outside of normal working hours when needed is what differentiates a cabling partner from a contractor. We deliver to your RFS schedule, not our standard working window.
learn more about our work with vantage
Read the full case study of our work with Vantage, including the latest site locations, project values, and facts & figures here. If you think a cabling partner is what you need to support your hyperscale expansion, speak to one of our data centre experts today by filling in our contact form below.