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TECH TALK
to agree processes that would work for all.
Creating our own benchmark as a minimum
and this being accepted and recognised
throughout the industry is the first step.
Yes, it would need to be policed and
externally, otherwise it has no value
whatsoever. This echoes previous discussions
about the need for a trusted trade
association that could take this on, put
the processes in place and manage it for
everyone, effectively becoming the central
watchdog for all.
Andrew Stevens, President and CEO,
CNet Training
of the installation. This is in addition to
helping to safeguard the industry, making it
more attractive for new talent, after all we
are in competition with other industries to
attract good people.
What are the potential implications
of this?
If the network cable infrastructure is not
installed correctly and it goes wrong, it is
hugely costly and inconvenient – you only
need to read the press about the impact of
cancelled flights, accessibility to online apps,
lock outs on government systems, the list
goes on. This is without considering any legal
implications that could occur, increasing
costs even more and absorbing valuable
time. Sure, not all outages are caused by the
network infrastructure failure as human error
comes into it too, however it does highlight
several gaps that could be filled relatively
easily with regulation/certification.
Many deem regulation as being a time-
consuming paper exercise. However, it
is needed. You wouldn’t dream of being
an electrician without having the right
certifications, it should be the same for those
working within network cabling considering
the importance of the task being carried out.
Everyone talks about quality of installation
but how do we currently know the installers
have adopted the current standards and
codes of practice during the install?
It could be self-regulated. However, this would
involve the entire industry working together
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Government regulation may occur in the
future, as public awareness focuses more
on connectivity, I believe the penny will
drop soon within government, and as an
industry we would be in a far stronger
position if we already have effective self-
regulation in place.
How can this risk be reduced by
having professionally certified teams?
Every business claims that its people are their
most important asset and the primary driver
of success. But how many organisations
genuinely have a structured investment
programme in training and ongoing
education for mission-critical people? People
are the very lifeblood of any business and
organisations need to understand this in
order to continue to thrive.
The organisation would also prove to be a
more attractive employer to potential new
staff. This competitive edge could allow the
organisation to be confident and therefore
help attract the highest calibre talent.
How would you describe current
attitudes towards ongoing education?
Attitudes vary on this one. For example,
in the Middle East we have found that
industry professionals are proud of their
achievements and really value their
certificates. In the US there seems to be a
culture of life-long learning where it is the
norm to continue to enhance knowledge,
skills and professional certifications. By
contrast, within the UK, the request for
training or education is often seen as a
weakness, whereby instead of seeing the
positivity of the outcomes of new learning, it
is looked upon negatively as having to fill the
gap when skills and knowledge are lacking.
However generally, I think the industry is
listening, but I think there is still a lot of work
The business case to invest in ongoing
professional development and certification
for existing teams is strong. By harnessing
current skills and embarking on a structured
approach to career development, in the
form of new learning and skills development
enhanced by professional qualifications and
industry recognised certification, data centre
managers can be confident that the data
centre is in the right technical hands. They
will also benefit from:
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Increased quality of service to clients
Increased confidence in your teams
Increased competitive advantage
Reduced people-related risk
Staff retention and loyalty
Enhanced employee satisfaction and
increased morale
• Increased employee contributions due
to the added confidence and new skills
after training
• Training/certification return on investment
www.intelligentcio.com