CyrusOne’s new management deal with Chicago-based JLL (NYSE: JLL) has already paid in dividends, including successfully digitized operations and a technology platform that enables higher worker productivity, real-time operational dashboards and enabled business intelligence.

Since outsourcing management of our 50 North American data centers to JLL on Jan. 1, 2022, the partnership has centered around our similar cultures of fostering collaboration, flexibility, technology and operational excellence as JLL provides integrated facilities management and project management services. Digitization of our data centers is a game changer, and JLL has helped CyrusOne become more accurate, operate more efficiently and become more proactive with its data.

“We selected JLL as our partner because its collaborative culture, leading-class technology stack and strong training program will help us stay competitive in the maturing data center market,” said Andrea Munoz, CyrusOne senior vice president of Operations and Customer Success. “Additionally, as the data center talent market remains tight, offering the training and best practices developed by the industry’s leading experts will be essential to attracting, retaining and training the best candidates in the field.”

The JLL platform puts us at the bleeding edge of technology and in a better position to make the best decisions and be the best operators we can be. Its key technology components include its computer maintenance management system (CMMS), which has revealed where we were missing assets. We have QR coded our assets and connected them to mobile devices to better streamline daily tasks for our operating team. The CMMS also ties into JLL’s Corrigo vendor platform to communicate directly with vendors for scheduling, invoicing and approvals.

Asset-based accounting is the largest part of the JLL technology platform. This helps CyrusOne better understand how much it costs to maintain every asset in our portfolio so we can make more informed decisions.

And as we continue to grow, it becomes more crucial to eliminate Human Error and reduce administrative burden. Digitization of MOPs, manuals and the operations team’s daily rounds makes mistakes less likely and the data they collect more actionable. For example, in the past, operations team members would walk the entire building and write down dozens of pages of data using pen and paper – data that might have some mistakes due to human error and would often be filed away and forgotten.

Now, they can walk the building and use iPads to more accurately compile data center information in real time into a single data base, where we can set guardrails, actively monitor trends and observe minimum/maximum allowances. The data has become more accurate and more actionable, allowing us to see slow-creep performance issues that give us a predictive indicator of failures before they can happen. While removing human error entirely is impossible, we’ve removed the ease at which human error could be introduced into reports through cut and paste.

JLL has also taken CyrusOne’s training to new heights. After skills assessment to find staff baselines, it applied Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality to offer each colleague tailored training focused on an individual’s strengths and weaknesses (for example, HVAC vs. electrical). The training in the virtual world is hyper-realistic and allows staff to gain useful experience through trial and error to become experts at their crafts in the real world through practice in the virtual world.

In a matter of months, JLL has had a tremendous positive impact on operations. But it couldn’t do it in a vacuum – it’s all about the partnership. From the rounds and readings, templates for MOPs or emergency procedures, coordinating from an incumbent ticket system to a new work order system, it’s been a collective effort. Everything JLL digitized comes from a collaborative template that CyrusOne brought to the table and JLL integrated into its platforms.

And for customers, we can offer improved, more accurate reporting by reducing administrative burden. We are freed to institute new sustainability programs, tighten up power management and tighten up power management reporting. Ultimately, JLL has allowed us to focus on uptime, capital refresh, capital planning and budget planning, which in the long term benefits our customers.

We look forward to continued partnership with JLL and more marked improvement as we complete a full install of the JLL platform and services.

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