We ‘Deep Dive’ with David Hirst, Group Executive at Macquarie Data Centres, who tells us about life inside and outside the office.
What would you describe as your most memorable achievement in the data centre industry?
Building and growing the right culture and behaviours within the Macquarie Data Centres team to be able to deliver on growth projects and operational excellence for some of the largest technology companies in the world. Over the past three years we have grown as well as hired many talented individuals, setting us up well for the future. During the pandemic, the team delivered not one but two data centre developments, Intellicentre 3 East (IC3E) in Sydney’s North Zone, a circa 11MW facility, and Intellicentre 5 South Bunker (IC5 SB) in Canberra, which is one of only three providers certified strategic by the Government, meaning it is able to house the highest levels of government classified data. Both facilities were opened on time and on budget. I was very proud to lead and grow such a fantastic team who have achieved so much in such a short period of time and I’m excited for where we are headed in the future.
What first made you think of a career in technology/data centres?
It started with a joy of solving complex problems in creative ways that provided real value to companies in a growing dynamic sector and grew from there. The intellectual stimulation, constant change and innovation drew me to Macquarie. I was part of a dynamic leadership team which focused on a range of Hybrid IT services offering private cloud, cybersecurity and colocation to corporates, government and multinationals. All three areas of the company were so successful that we established separate businesses with Macquarie Data Centres, launching in 2017, and since then have opened a portfolio of sites across Sydney’s North Zone and Canberra.
What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position?
My management philosophy is to create the right environment for talented people to thrive in. Cultural fit is critical and assessed up front in the hiring process aligned to our business’ values.
Those values include: making a difference – we don’t have any passengers on the bus, results – we are an outcome-oriented business, collaboration – everything we do is a team sport and we each need to play our role, customer service – happy customers tell their friends and buy more. I interview every person that joins my company and assess their cultural fit.
This philosophy has been highly effective seeing our team has expanded threefold over the past two years and has completed construction on two mission critical data centres during a pandemic in a skill constrained environment.
The cohesion in our team has had a flow-on effect of better results for customers, which has been reflected through our world-class net promoter score (NPS) of +75, which is up there with the Amazons and Apples of the world.
What do you think is the current hot talking point within the data centre space?
Sustainability within the data centre industry is one of the hot topics right now. Efficiency of data centres will always be an important consideration, but it has widened to become a more holistic approach. Driven by evolving expectations of hyperscale customers and government, safety and security are paramount, contractors and supply chains needs to be held accountable, providing fair wages and safe work conditions as well as a balanced approach to hiring talent in a way that ensures diversity. Leaders also need to be cognisant of the environmental impacts of data centres, including where they reside and the technology choices that are made.
How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office?
Spending time with family and friends, with plenty of good food and wine. I also enjoy playing football and watching sport.
What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in your industry?
Customers around the globe are looking for safe, secure and local homes for their data – data that has exploded exponentially in recent years. Our reliance on the online economy, including virtual shopping, health-based applications, supply chain management and innovations such as driver-less cars are all contributing to an astonishing amount of information that needs to be stored, analysed and transacted upon. This has increased investment in data storage as well as security, both physical and logical, to keep this information safe. Recently the Australian Federal Government indicated its commitment to security by announcing plans to move its data into certified strategic data centres within Australia that provide the highest level of security assurance. Macquarie Data Centres is currently one of only three providers in the country to achieve this designation.
What are the region-specific challenges you encounter in your role?
On the whole, Australia is an ideal location for data centres. We have a strong economy, a well-placed legal system and there is ample space for geodiversity and expansive facility design.
We are, however, an island and the tyranny of distance combined with COVID has led to a shortage of talented workers to fill technical roles. Leaders need to plan ahead and grow their teams to navigate these challenges and meet the expansive service expectations customers have in 2021. Fortunately, at Macquarie, we have invested heavily in our graduate program to build talent from the ground up and do not rely solely on sourcing talent externally to meet current demands.
What changes to your job role have you seen in the last year and how do you see these developing in the coming months?
The past year has seen exponential growth in the data centre industry with significantly more growth to come. It has been a pleasure to work with my team to build and open two data centres during this time, and to announce plans to open another, Intellicentre 3 (IC3) Super West in Sydney’s North Zone, which will be our largest investment yet adding 32 megawatts to bring the Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus to 50 megawatts over time. In 2020, we also celebrated a circa 10 megawatt hyperscale win, a monumental occasion for the Macquarie data centres team.
My team has also played a crucial part in Australia’s defence against cyberattacks, and this June I had the privilege of meeting with Australia’s Minister for Defence, Peter Dutton, to open our latest Canberra data centre, the IC5 South Bunker, which is certified strategic and able to house the highest levels of classified government data.
