Salute

Effective infrastructure management and sound capital deployment strategies are the heartbeat of operational excellence for data center service providers. Traditional, siloed roles for facility management are no longer efficient. The need for multi-skilled operations personnel who can think on their feet and deliver mission-critical services with agility and responsiveness is especially critical as environments continue to move towards hybrid designs.

Finding the right operations workforce can be a struggle for data center service providers. With Salute, navigating the talent shortage becomes a streamlined process, enabling the swift deployment of skilled asset management personnel.

A global, full lifecycle data center services provider, Salute addresses the talent challenge with a novel solution. At the foundation from leveraging military backgrounds who are equipped with unique skills honed during active duty, Salute leverages diversity of experience and talent toward developing a recruiting and training program that yields high quality technicians. Because Salute’s program focuses on the entire lifecycle of a data center asset, the training program effectively trains and transforms their people into multi-skilled, world-class data center operators.

This multifaceted expertise allows Salute to serve a broad spectrum of clients, including leading hyperscalers, colocation providers, and edge operators. Its talented workforce brings high situational and mission-critical awareness to projects. They fit into the client’s culture and operating model, acting not as a supplementary team but as an extension of their business.

“We aim to be a strategic partner with our clients and look across the lifecycle of their data center assets to provide ways to optimize their operations and meet their ambitions,” says Erich Sanchack, CEO of Salute.

Tailored and Holistic Infrastructure Management

The leadership team at Salute comprises military veterans who have transitioned into the IT industry. Sanchack served as a U.S. Marine Corps officer and over last 30 years has since held multiple leadership roles spanning notable IT, telecommunications, data center and technology firms. Co-founder Lee Kirby has 36 years of military and 40 years of IT experience.

Others in the Salute team bring extensive industry experience from various sectors. Their understanding of industry operations gives them an acute awareness of typical pain points, allowing effective challenge navigation.

Leveraging this veritable think-tank, Salute takes a proactive approach to client engagement. Rather than asking clients about their pain points, it initiates conversations by presenting a thorough awareness of their potential challenges. This provides clients with a better understanding of their options, as opposed to brainstorming from square one. It allows them to advance faster and further into the solution stages of the dialogue, fostering more efficient and targeted discussions.

Once a tailored solution is agreed upon, Salute deploys a systemic approach. Its services address all aspects of the data center lifecycle, from master planning and design, through construction and operational phases, to the decommissioning of the asset when required, either partially or completely.

Salute’s approach goes beyond addressing individual systems. It optimizes the overall design of a data center asset for operational excellence. The objective is to reduce the total ownership cost for clients, ensuring effective deployment of capital. It also offers consulting expertise in energy procurement, hedging strategies, and supply chain management, providing clients with a holistic suite of services to optimize the performance and efficiency of their data center investments.

Given the absence of an industry standard for how data centers need to operate, Salute prioritizes adaptability and flexibility when working with clients. It uses a comprehensive playbook to guide facility operations. As the project progresses and the team gains more insights into the specific architecture of each facility, it customizes the playbook to align with the client’s unique needs and the intricacies of their facility’s design. Ultimately, the playbook is meant to provide frontline staff access to an extensive repository of top-notch, sustainable and standardized procedures, which can be consistently implemented.

Through an AI interface, Salute allows clients to easily access and comprehend the standard operating procedures and maintenance protocols. The tool facilitates a step-by-step understanding of procedures, offers visual mapping, checks relevant maintenance records, and identifies appropriate personnel and optimal timing for maintenance tasks. Using this asset, Salute can enhance its approach and effectively align customers with their operational requirements. Additionally, Salute continues to help develop industry standards for operating in hybrid high performance compute (HPC) environments, as well as, codifying the standards around cooling distribution unit (CDU) topographies.

“Our philosophy is a resolute belief in the customer’s mission, and we provide tailored solutions for their needs, with a long-term perspective in mind,” says Sanchack.

Industry Recognized Operational Excellence

Salute deeply understands the intricate operational dynamics inherent in data center sites, strategically deploying versatile personnel with cross-functional specialties and skills on different projects. This allows the company to self-perform nearly all of its services. In instances where self-performance is not the focus, Salute collaborates with its channel partners.

One testament to Salute’s operational excellence was the recent recognition as the ‘Data Center Operations Team of the Year’ title by Datacenter Dynamics. An award that is voted by industry peers, the accolade stems from the successful takeover and transformation of two data center assets for a client. The assets were initially characterized as distressed following the client’s acquisition, but Salute’s crucial role during the due diligence phase contributed to their proper valuation.

Upon completion of the due diligence, it swiftly implemented operational changes. Within two weeks, the data centers were functional, and all distressed aspects were addressed and rectified, bringing them up to commercial standards. The industry acknowledged this rapid and effective turnaround as best in class.

The success story underscores Salute’s commitment to operational excellence and its ability to enhance the performance of acquired assets. These qualities are direct products of its veteran community, significantly shaping the company culture. Their distinct life experience brings discipline to the organizational ethos. Their ability to perform effectively under high pressure and address challenges calmly generates an inherent responsibility to complete projects with dedication and integrity.

Owing to their familiarity with dynamic working conditions, the crew displays a keen appetite for leveraging cutting-edge capabilities. This enables the company to embrace modern trends and technologies to boost productivity. Recent additions include autonomous monitoring systems and AI integration, enabling Salute to seamlessly adapt to the industry’s constantly shifting status of service level requirements – especially as faster response times are needed.

Navigating the Digital Revolution

Salute acknowledges that with the advent of AI and machine learning and the substantial growth in data demands, the market is evolving at an unprecedented rate. The company remains proactive in anticipating emerging pain points within the industry and emphasizes the need for a shift in clients’ buying behaviors.

“We aim to be a strategic partner with our clients and look across the lifecycle of their data center assets to provide ways to optimize their operations and meet their ambitions”

Instead of adopting a position-by-position, temporary, project-oriented approach, Salute suggests clients consider a more strategic and long-term perspective. It sees this approach as crucial in adapting to the rapidly changing technology landscape and meeting the sustained demands of evolving industries. In preparation for the upcoming changes, Salute is committed to evolving its portfolio. It has, until now, focused its operations in North America and the European part of the EMEA region, but plans to expand to other parts of the EMEA and the APAC region in the coming months.

Our philosophy is a resolute belief in the customer’s mission, and we provide tailored solutions for their needs, with a long-term perspective in mind

To facilitate strategic growth, it has undertaken several acquisitions. The acquisition of Iconicx was pivotal in broadening the company’s services into the early phases of the data center lifecycle. It further strengthened its European presence by acquiring OBMG, a mechanical and electrical design engineering consultancy, which enhanced the company’s offering in quality assurance, quality controls, and commissioning. More M&A activities are being considered, especially regarding expansion into new regions.

A global leader in the data center services space, Salute’s disciplined approach, industry experience, and unparalleled staffing standards raise the bar for data center operators as it continues to deliver mission-critical excellence through expertise and proficiency.