DCN August 2016 | Page 34

case study COUNCIL BENEFITS A long term collaboration between Emcor UK and Woking Borough Council utilising the latest advances in digital technology is resulting in the local community benefiting from essential information and services. Russell Drury reports. E mcor UK and Woking Borough Council have had a collaborative business relationship for over 20 years. A key foundation to the success of the partnership is the council’s stated desire to continually improve the lives of its 100,000 residents and local businesses through technology. As a result, the council has been at the forefront of the public sector in recognising the importance of digital technology to the delivery of its ambitious service goals. Accordingly, Woking Borough Council developed 34 a strategy aimed at harnessing what it felt were the most appropriate technological advances in the digital sphere. An important milestone in this plan was asking Emcor UK to design, install, and connect a new, bespoke data centre, capable of future proofing, to the extent possible, the council’s needs. Woking: Helping lead data centre innovation A key to success of the design and delivery of the council’s data centre was to obtain a comprehensive understanding of their service ambitions and how it saw technology as facilitating the most effective way of achieving these goals. After in-depth consultation with all stakeholders, Emcor UK presented Woking Borough Council the recommended, latest, and most relevant developments in digital technology. As such, the council could see the extent of what was possible, as well as the positive impact it could have on residents and businesses. After discussion and approvals, Emcor UK set about the design and delivery of the data centre, tailored to the needs of the council and local residents and businesses.