Salute Mission Critical (Salute), the organization that brings military veterans into the data center industry, is providing engineering services for ServerFarm’s facility in Toronto, Canada.
Salute will integrate ServerFarm’s InCommand data center management system with its Global Command Center, a NOC in an office space within Element Critical's CH1 Chicago data center campus, which it unveiled in February 2020. Salute's job will be to maintain the Toronto data center's uptime. The company will also be managing the facility's lifecycle services, such as onsite deployments and remote management, providing 24x7 support.
Military service (and support)
“We’re proud that ServerFarm has seen the value in expanding our relationship to include supportive facilities management services for its Toronto data center," said Jason Okroy, CEO and co-founder of Salute. “No matter what services we provide, our exceptionally trained data center specialists seamlessly integrate with our client’s ongoing processes and platforms to execute critical procedures with military precision. By eventually integrating InCommand within our Global Command Center, we will also have additional capabilities to leverage in helping our customers maintain uptime through any situation.”
Avner Papouchado, CEO of ServerFarm, praised the abilities of professionals with experience of teamwork in high-pressure military engagements: “Our team has found their skills to be so vital that, in some cases, we have transitioned Salute technicians into full-time employment with ServerFarm. We’re eager to replicate our joint successes at our Toronto facility and deliver vital uptime and efficiencies for our customers in that market.”
Salute founder Lee Kirby explained why former military personnel were a good fit in the data center industry in a DCD interview in 2018: “Take a typical infantry man [he also explained that 15 percent of veterans are women]. He maintains a weapon, a vehicle and a communications system. He must operate with local people, work around dangerous equipment, and deal with the unexpected. There is no civilian training or experience that can equal that,” Kirby said. “They adapt and train quickly, and communication and coordination are bred into them.”
