Diversity

Employee Spotlight - Priscilla, Data Center Technician

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 20:00:00 +0000

We caught up with Priscilla, who works as a Data Center Technician at Equinix in Amsterdam and joined Equinix via our Career Transition Program.

Priscilla, tell us, how did you get involved in technology?

My mother had Hodgkins and received radiation for it. Therefore, working as a radiologist looked very interesting to me. Apart from the fact that it is a medical career, you are also very involved with the equipment. This is probably what fascinated me the most, and the reason I went into ICT. Taking computers and laptops apart, naming all the parts, and then putting them together again is one of the things I find most interesting. Especially if you can then also ensure that the equipment works perfectly and you can install the drivers.

Now we are really curious about what your position entails, could you maybe tell us a bit more about it?

I currently work as an IBX data centre technician at Equinix. In this function, I am responsible for maintaining the fibre and UTP connections, and to install new connections. In addition to this, we are also responsible for the quality and quantity of our clients' servers. For example, we perform power cycles for our clients on request, but we also expand the data storage for clients by placing extra DIMMs in their servers.

Sometimes it is possible that a client can no longer connect to a particular connection. In that case it is my task to detect the problem and to rectify it.

What does your typical day at work look like?

A day shift starts at 07:00 AM and ends at 3:30 PM. Equinix works with a ticket system. During this shift, we work with eight colleagues to solve clients' service requests. Clients submit a ticket, which is a service request with specific tasks and requests. We queue these requests. The requests vary between cross-connects, smart hands, uninstallations and migrations.

A cross-connect is the installation of a fibre or UTP connection between the client and the requested end point. A smart hand can be a simple power-cycle where power cables are unplugged for a short period, but it can also be an elaboration of an entire client-cage. It is also possible that a client ordered equipment, and asks us to fit and install it in their cage.

Around 11:30 AM, we have a half an hour break. The start time can vary per location. At my location, we are served lunch. Every month we pay a small amount in exchange for fresh sandwiches, hot snacks, fruit and drinks during lunch.

Around 3:00 PM, the colleagues working night shift arrive and the tasks are transferred. A handover is used for this. This states which tickets are due to expire and which must be done on a specific date and time so that the next shift is not faced with surprises.

Apart from training, what skills are needed for your position?

First of all, it is important to have an affinity for technology, and especially for computers and servers. If you do not have this, the knowledge will not stick and it will become difficult to perform your duties. In addition to this, Equinix is an international company and English is spoken with most clients and the service desk. It is thus very important that you are fluent in English. It's also important to have a sense of humour!

In addition to this, Equinix offers various courses after the end of your probation period to continue developing further, and to polish your existing knowledge. For example, a course about fibreglass.

What have been the biggest successes in your career?

Moving between employers due to an injury. I started with military training, but after a few weeks, I developed tibial inflammation. I had to stop the course to go for rehabilitation. This rehabilitation period lasted longer than expected, so I ended up sitting at home and looking for another job. I started looking both inside and outside the military for vacancies and eventually found Equinix. My success? That I could eventually look further into what I could do, and no longer looked at what I could not do due to my injury. Regardless of this, I will always regret not having been able to have a military career.

If someone, after reading your story, also wants to pursue a career in technology, what do they have to do?

First look within the technology sector where your interest lies and what you like. There are many different careers within the technology industry. When necessary, ask the companies if it is possible to tag along with someone for a day or a week, so that you can gain first hand experience about the company and find out whether this particular company really fits you.

It's important not to be afraid to enter a man's world! Personally, I have been welcomed with open arms, and they were specifically happy to have a woman join the team. Equinix is committed to building diverse teams.

What do you deem important to get started in technology?

First try and find out what interests you within the sector. Ask for information if you want to know more about something. If you are uncertain, try something, and if it is not for you, you can move on.

Finally, do you have any advice you can give to people who want to work in the technology industry?

Just go for it. You are free to choose your own career. Show those men that you can do what they do!

In partnership with Vrouwen in de techniek

From the Army To Equinix

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 19:00:00 +0000

Having joined the Army at 16 years old and serving for 27 years in a variety of countries I began my second career at Equinix. I held a variety of senior Logistics positions in my Military career, meaning that I oversaw the logistics of everything from transport to weapons, vehicle parts and clothing.

It was a logical move to join the Equinix team as a Logistics Manager in July 2014, as I found my skillset from the Army was extremely transferable. What I didn’t expect was to be able to grow my team from four to 16 over the course of six years, and Equinix to become the highlight of my career.

The first reason for this is the impact I feel I’ve been able to make on the business, which gives me real job satisfaction. One of my first projects was to centralise all consumables into a one hub so that any ordering went via my department, the second task was to set up a system where I could track the usage of all consumables. This ensured I had the correct equipment in the right place at the right time which is crucial in data centre where our customers rely on us 24/7.

Three years ago I was given the opportunity to go to California to present an idea I had for a company ‘Sparkathon’ event, which was an app called ‘Where’s My Shipment?’ This gave customers real time notifications of where their orders were, and allowed our Logistics and technicians teams to see where everything was without having to return to their PC all the time. Presenting my plan to the Global leadership team was nerve wracking to say the least – I took some English ales and English port over to the USA with me to make sure I caught their attention!

They loved my idea which was sponsored by Equinix leadership and rolled out globally, so now this app is used in every country Equinix operates in. I was absolutely elated when we launched this – it was an amazing feeling to have made the idea a reality and saved our staff and customers a huge amount of time in the process. There is nothing better than receiving an email from a customer saying how great our set up is, and how organised we are. Seeing ‘The Magic of Equinix’ that we talk about internally impacting our customers is fantastic.

Making a genuine difference is what motivates me, and so being able to continue my Military career as a reservist while working at Equinix another key reason I enjoy working here so much. The company’s support of the armed forces is second to none, and the recent Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award we won from the MoD is testament to this. Within my team of 16, two of us work as reservists and another is a cadet instructor. We learn new skills every day at work to take to our military work, and we also bring a unique set of skills to the business, so it benefits the company as well as their employees.

I really enjoy my work as a reservist and Equinix is fully supportive of me taking time off to contribute. So far I’ve been called up twice and I’m just about to do my third stint this year, as there is a huge amount of demand for additional military support during the COVID pandemic.

In my first two week-long deployment, I was working in Horse guards in London helping to assist running the operations room in London district for the Joint Military Command (JMC), which involved a variety of taskings from planning, manning London drive through COVID19 testing centres, large scale logistics support to NHS England, Engineer support to Nightingale hospitals and public order in and around London. You get to work with a wide range of people from different backgrounds so are learning from each other all the time. Some are Ex-soldiers, but there are also civil servants, lawyers etc – a huge range, so it’s different and interesting each time. It’s a great feeling to be contributing and nice to get my uniform once again!

Our military programme is ever evolving here at Equinix as we create more opportunities for people looking for their next career move after leaving the Armed Forces. It’s fantastic that we are able to work so closely with the armed forces to support people when they leave with a huge diversity of careers.

What Equinix's Career Transition Program Means To Me

Thu, 06 May 2021 19:00:00 +0000

I have worked at Equinix for 11 years now, and I currently lead our Operations recruitment team in EMEA, hiring staff for Equinix’s data centres across Europe and the Middle East. Historically this has meant working tirelessly to find Mechanical & Electrical Engineers and Cabling Technicians with experience working in a data centre. However, at the start of 2020, it became very clear that we were going to need to do something differently. There was hot competition for the best talent, and we wanted to diversify our workforce to leverage new skills and approaches to the roles.

We started to explore the idea of bringing in people from unrelated industries. We had seen some small-scale success with this before - one example of this was a colleague who joined us on a short placement when leaving the Armed Forces and never left, thankfully! We soon realised that an idea we had for a short-term hiring program in could actually transform the way we hire globally – and we haven’t looked back! We quickly found ourselves deep in a global program build, which was a first for me, and The Equinix Career Transition Program was born, as a formal pathway to join Equinix with no data centre experience or knowledge. We partnered with an external training provider to support people with this move and ensure we are setting them up for a successful career with us.

What we hadn’t predicted was that as soon as we began our global build, a global pandemic was going to come along and change everything. It quickly became apparent that we were in an extremely fortunate position in that we were still actively hiring across the globe, whereas this sadly wasn’t the case for many industries. We made the decision to focus our efforts on promoting the program within industries hardest hit, to ensure people that had faced redundancy were aware of the career paths Equinix could offer them. We partnered with companies in the aviation and automotive industries, as well as holding information webinars about how to launch a career at Equinix. I can honestly say I am so proud to work for an organisation that fully supports these initiatives. Being able to adapt our program to support those out of work gave me such great job satisfaction. I felt like in my own small way I was able to make a positive difference in what has been the hardest time many of us will have faced in our lives to date.

Since the program launched formally launched in August 2020, we have seen huge success globally, more than we ever dreamed of for the first six months! People have joined us from the military, aviation, automotive, hospitality and many more industries. Our partners in the business are relishing seeing their teams diversify in many ways. We are looking forward to opening the program out to several different job types in the future, so watch this space!

Of course the launch of the Career Transition Program was not always easy. We were determined to launch a globally consistent program and as such had many conversations at all hours of the day and night with our colleagues and partners across the globe. Training needs differ, languages differ and the minimum requirements for each role differ slightly, but by working as one team we were able to come up with solutions, and we’re still learning as we go. I’m not even adding lockdown and home schooling to this list of challenges, but needless to say I’m still having nightmares about phonics! Whether educating my children or building the Career Transition Program has given me more grey hairs in the last year it’s hard to tell, but the hair salons are back open in the UK now so no one ever need know!

I am so excited and humbled to have been at the heart of this idea from the very beginning and so thankful to colleagues and leaders within Equinix for supporting us as a team to achieve our goals. I couldn’t be any prouder to have been a part of this, and am so excited about what is to come.

Why ex-athletes are a great addition to the corporate world

Mon, 15 May 2023 19:00:00 +0000

Servant leadership is a vital trait that companies seek in leaders and their team members. It involves fostering a culture of trust, diversity of thought, and an unselfish mindset, while prioritizing the success of others. Similarly, these are successful elements for people in sport Competitive sports offer the chance to build and strengthen these leadership attributes

Through competition, athletes learn self-discipline, the need to adapt to opportunities, and continued teamwork. Athletes are equipped with winning attitudes and a learning mindset - all critical traits for success in the business world. At Equinix, we recognize the value of these attributes and have initiated a pilot program to support professional athletes as they transition from competitive sports into various career paths at our company, including sales, support, and human resources.

By fostering a diverse and inclusive environment and valuing the strengths of our team members, we strive to create a culture of trust and mutual respect. Through our commitment to servant leadership, we aim to empower our employees to achieve their full potential and succeed as individuals and as a team. With that in mind, Equinix is dedicated to creating and upholding a culture that, at all levels, represents a wide range of perspectives, expertise, cultures, and backgrounds. This implies integrating Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) into every aspect of our corporate operations, with a particular emphasis on the hiring and talent-development procedures they use for all people, including retired Olympic athletes. Changing careers can be challenging, but due to the athletes’ years of training, coaching and self-discipline, organizations that give these exceptionally talented people resources or opportunities often gain from their unique blend of qualities. This initiative was a huge success, and Equinix decided to expand its efforts in hiring former athletes across the globe.

Marylin Okoro, Robert Wojcik and Danielle Brown joined Equinix after transitioning from their sports careers. Their previous careers as athletes helped them develop critical skills for success, which they have been able to put to use in the corporate side of life. Sports taught them about drive, dedication and perseverance, and it taught them how to work with a team and the importance of communication.

When asked about her experience working at Equinix, Marylin Okoro said, “I am proud of the difference we are making under the DIB space, because this is making a huge impact and changing generations of patterns for many of our young talent joining the workforce. I am also proud to be advocating for athletes and to have been able to support the recruitment of three fellow athletes since I joined.”

When asked about sports and their impact on his corporate life, Robert Wojcik said, “Teamwork, communication, confidence, self-discipline, work ethic, mental toughness and thriving in a high-performance setting. These are just a couple of the skills that helped me and will continue to help me as I progress and continue at Equinix that I had learned as an athlete. I have also been driven by my competitiveness my whole life, and I certainly don’t see that changing now!”

“The role looks challenging and interesting, and I can’t wait to get started. What excites me the most, though, are the people. Through the interview process and doing research, I’ve heard such wonderful things about the culture of Equinix and how important its values are. If you’re in an environment that helps you grow and focuses on winning as a team, I truly believe that you can achieve some incredible things,” said Danielle Brown when asked about her excitement about joining Equinix.

At Equinix, we continue to identify new channels to connect underrepresented communities to meaningful opportunities. We aim to offer the opportunity to reskill talent, helping them to develop new capabilities, engage them back into the workplace, and take on new jobs in the technology industry.

Athletes may sometimes face obstacles while transitioning from their sports career to a corporate one. We believe that with the right guidance and support, anyone can reach their full potential. To help new hires have the best start, we have a comprehensive and robust onboarding program that ensures a smooth transition. Talent is everywhere, and everyone deserves an opportunity to reach their maximum potential. So if you’re ready for that opportunity you’ve been waiting for, check out our Pathways Programs and explore the open roles available.