Sam Cycles 100km at night for Red Cross

Posted on April 22nd, 2013

Sam Clarke from our accounts department will be taking part in London’s Nightrider Event on the 8th-9th of June. Sam will be cycling 100km at night through the deserted city of London.

There will be 2250 cyclists taking part on the night and Sam will be cycling as part of a team raising money for The British Red Cross.

The British Red Cross is part of the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC), working tirelessly with 14 other UK charities to provide help for Syria. With an estimated 70,000 dead, a million refugees crossed over the borders, many thousands more displaced and scores of people injured and traumatised – the need could not be greater.

As part of the world’s largest humanitarian organisation Red Cross have a truly global reach. They help people at the heart of disasters and conflicts globally, and aim to offer assistance without discrimination.

To sponsor Sam and give money to such a deserving cause please use the link below additionally you can go on our Facebook or Twitter pages and for every new follower on Twitter and like on Facebook Custodian will sponsor Sam £1.

Registered charity number 220949    




Road Closure

Posted on March 27th, 2013

Map

This will affect you if you access Custodian Data Centre from the M20 side.

Please be aware that from the 2nd of April at the junction of Bearsted Road and New Cut Road the roundabout will be closed for planned construction works for 2 weeks.

For those who come from the M20 you are advised to go through Maidstone Town Centre or via the Ashford road. Please let us know if you have any issues and we will happily provide you with an alternative route.

 

 

 




We’re so cool

Posted on February 7th, 2013

Pav, one of our NOC engineers, is kindly modelling for us in this thermal image.

We use a thermal imaging camera as part of our regular maintenance routine on our electrical infrastructure. We double check cooling efficiency and air flow within our clients’ racks and advise them if any adjustment is necessary.

On top of this, we offer all our clients free blanking plates as part of our cool aisle containment. The plates keep cool air circulating efficiently using less energy (so better for the environment), which in turn keeps costs down for our clients.

Everyone benefits. Free stuff really is cool!

 

 

 

 

 




It’s all about our clients

Posted on January 16th, 2013

As part of our ongoing efforts to look after our hardworking clients when they visit us, they now have access to a Build Room.

Located just off the data centre floor, this is a quiet space where equipment can be unboxed, cables can be arranged and servers configured – all from the comfort of a chair, using the tables, power points and cable organisers provided.

Support is on hand in the form our dedicated technologists who will not only help you with moving any equipment but will provide any advice or assistance required during set-up.

And when clients have finished setting up, our Restaurant on the first floor is open from 9.30am – 3pm for that well-earned slice of cake!

 

 

 




World class connectivity POPs into Maidstone

Posted on January 14th, 2013

We are delighted to announce that we have become Level 3 Communications’ new point-of-presence giving you access to an expansive network.

This global carrier is ranked number one in Europe, the United States and Asia (Renesys) as the most connected ISP. It reaches 45 countries around the world.

Incidentally, more than 67% of traffic that originates on the Level 3 Internet network is fulfilled directly on Custodian’s IP backbone.

For more information contact info@custodiandc.com




Onwards and upwards

Posted on January 9th, 2013

Work has begun to extend the second floor within our Maidstone site to provide a further 35,000 sq ft of premium on site office space.

As with existing tenants, most of whom are high tech companies, future tenants will enjoy the fastest connectivity and most resilient bandwidth in Kent.

Anyone interested in creating their own bespoke office should contact us now on sales@custodiandc.com

 

 

 

 

 

 




Back down to earth

Posted on January 2nd, 2013

Our plucky explorers returned to us safe and sound just before Christmas with tales of wonder but also of exhaustion! Apparently trekking up Everest is quite tiring.


Pete Clarke said, “We had a great time despite sleeping one night at Gorek Shep where it was -22 degrees Centigrade. Half an inch of ice on the INSIDE of the window didn’t really add to the insulating properties of our tea house but the views from Kala Pattar the next day were worth the risk of losing a limb or two to frostbite. We were lucky to have such an incredible experience and are thrilled that we’ve exceeded our target and raised over £2,300 for CRY”.

Exceeded targets? Spoken like a true Sales Manager.


Rowland, Pete and Sam would like to pass on their thanks to everyone who supported them in their adventure – having paid for the trip themselves please rest assured that all the money raised will go directly to the charity to help them reduce cardiac risk in the young.





 

 




Staff search for Yetis on Everest

Posted on November 20th, 2012

On 29th November three staff members will be flying out to Kathmandu in Nepal to start their two-week charity trek up Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain at 8,848m.

Managing Director, Rowland Kinch along with husband and wife team Pete and Sam Clarke, all from Maidstone-based Custodian Data Centre, will be bravely travelling on to the Lukla Tenzing-Hillary Airport.  This is the most dangerous airport in the world due to its steep descent and very short runway.  From here they begin their 14-day trek up to Kala Patthar, meaning Black Rock in Nepalese, which lies above the Everest base camp at 5,545m.

The intrepid trekkers, in total a party of seven with three Sherpas, are aiming to raise £2,000 for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).  CRY raises awareness of conditions that can lead to sudden cardiac death and aims to make tests available to all children for cardiac disease.  Included in the group is Gail McCormack whose brother tragically died aged just 21 of cardiomyopathy.

Each member of the group will need to acclimatise as they go to avoid altitude sickness.  En route, they will be visiting the Thyangboche Monastery, a Buddhist enclave and one of the highest religious buildings in the world.

As Rowland Kinch (Managing Director of Custodian Data Centres) comments, ‘While we’re slightly terrified about the thought of landing at the world’s most dangerous airport, we’re delighted to be able to support this worthwhile charity by doing something personally challenging.  Spotting a Yeti would be a bonus’.

Anyone wishing to support them in their fundraising efforts can go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Custodiandc.




New Generator Arrives

Posted on August 23rd, 2012

We were really pleased today when the first of our new generators arrived.  Our existing generators are still going strong, but are not big enough for our growing needs.

Our delivery driver (Baggy) arrived nice and early at 8am and we were all ready to watch as he unloaded our big new yellow box.  A few discussions about location and positioning and we soon had our new generator in position.

We’re all excited about our new delivery.  OK, it’s a generator and not everyone’s cup of tea, but to us it shows that our business is growing and that we’re growing with it. It’s also big and very powerful, although surprisingly quiet. We’re looking forward to when the next one arrives.

Our new generator is an Olympian GEP550-2 capable of providing an additional 550kVA power to our DataCentre.  The next one should be here soon so that we can continue to provide N+N power support to our clients.

Here are a few more photo’s of our Generator arriving:




Custodian Data Centre achieves ISO27001 Accreditation

Posted on June 20th, 2012

Custodian Data Centre in Maidstone has announced that they have attained the most widely recognised security standard accreditation in the world – ISO 27001:2005, Information Security Management System certification.

As an emerging force in the data centre market known for its power availability & award winning efficiency, Custodians accreditation now demonstrates their commitment to providing robust information security measures that preserve the integrity of their customers’ sensitive information.

The ISO 27001 audit specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining and improving a documented Information Security Management System, taking into account the organisation’s overall business risks. A neutral, independent agency conducts the audit and assesses the operation of a data centre, as well as all available applications, IT systems, processes and services provided by the organisation’s employees and contractors. A fully independent reassessment is carried out every year, and surveillance audits which review a section of the ISMS are performed every 6 months.

“We decided not use a consultancy to achieve ISO27001, because it can become a templated box ticking exercise” explains Leonard Kay, head of business development at Custodian. We preferred to rely upon our own people, which allowed us to involve everyone & to ensure that the ethos of ISO27001 became central to the operation of our organisation” We work very hard to excel in all areas of our business: award winning efficiency, power/network availability & genuine customer care. This accreditation is further proof that Custodian is providing a serious alternative in the colocation market.”