LEICESTER UNIVERSITY APPOINTS KEYSOURCE FOR CRITICAL FM

Keysource, the expert in business critical environments, has been appointed by the University of Leicester on a three-year extendable contract to provide critical data centre facilities management (FM) services. It builds on a seven-year relationship which started in 2009 when Keysource designed and built the University’s’ award winning data centre which they then expanded in 2011, almost doubling it in size.

Under the terms of the new deal Keysource will provide a seamless, responsive and proactive management of the maintenance services for the data centres in line with the University’s’ own strategic plan. This will include providing specialist auditing and monitoring of energy efficiency levels so that the University can both reduce operational costs and meet carbon footprint targets. The service will be based on a clear framework focusing on data centre best practice, leveraging the ITIL methodology and Keysource’s new CAFM system. 

Additional support will be provided during August and September when the University is at its busiest with student applications. During this time Keysource will undertake Critical Window Pre-Health Checks on the infrastructure to ensure the data centres are working at optimum standards, whilst Critical Facilities Engineers will be stationed within close proximity to the University. This will facilitate a rapid response in the event of any issues and minimise the risk of downtime

Keysource will also provide a series of regular service and strategic reviews to ensure that energy efficiency certificates are achieved. The team will also be responsible for cleaning sensitive data centre alarms and conducting an upgrade to the University’s business management services systems so that data centre cooling can be managed centrally.

Stuart Poulton, Systems Specialist (Infrastructure) at Leicester University said, “Our data centres are becoming increasingly important with the growth of digital content, therefore Keysource will be providing a crucial service by not only helping us to ensure we meet energy efficiency targets but also keep our data services up and running at all times.”

Mike West, Managing Director at Keysource, commented, “We have built a successful partnership with the University of Leicester over the last seven years and we welcome the opportunity to continue to strengthen our relationship. We believe this will help to ensure excellence in delivery and this collaborative approach, where we proactively share knowledge, will help the University to deliver on its strategic plans.”

Richard Clifford, Data Centre Consultant at Keysource, added, “Being associated with such a prestigious academic institution is something that we relish and we will commit all of our resources to making this new contract another success.”