International Data Center Day is as much about the people in the industry as the facilities. In this special blog, Lauren Greski shares her inspiring success story.
Lauren is a Manager (Shift), Data Center Operations at CoreSite’s Boston facility, BO1. Lauren has been with CoreSite for 10 years, and was a 2024 Circle of Excellence Recipient, a program recognizing truly exceptional performance.
March 26 is International Data Center Day, founded to create awareness and understanding of the data center industry and to inspire the next generation of talent. Data centers support digital communications, cloud services, telecommunication services, big data analysis, financial transactions, internet access and much more. March is also Women’s History Month, designated for “commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.”
What are your responsibilities?
Day-to-day, I oversee a team of five technicians. We manage customer case queues, talk with vendors and work directly with customers on their colocation space. Customers submit requests, and our data center operations team will perform the tasks assigned to the requests. This could mean installing servers, power cycling equipment, troubleshooting telecommunication circuits or even something as simple as delivering a package to the customer’s space.
No two days are the same, that’s for sure. And although we can have a day’s schedule set, we need to be ready to pivot when tasks are added or rescheduled, or an issue crops up.
What brought you to CoreSite?
Originally, I was looking to get into law enforcement. But I was also really interested in data centers in general. I saw a security position open at BO1 and applied. I thought it would help further my career and give me a better understanding of what it means to be part of a team that is securing critical infrastructure. I started working as a security officer, not really knowing anything about how the facility worked.
I started talking with the team when I was on the job. We have a small team here, which really helped make it easy to ask questions. I started forming relationships with all of them and learned about what they were doing in the different areas of the data center. Later, CoreSite implemented the Data Center Qualification Program, which helped me take the reins and work my way up.
What is the Data Center Qualification Program?
The Data Center Qualification Program is a tiered qualification program that CoreSite offers to help employees grow and learn different parts of the company. The program identifies opportunities for career advancement and provides training. It’s self-paced learning and includes a lot of peer review and peer learning. We also utilize Schneider Electric University™, which has great online certification programs about data centers and energy management.
I worked my way up from a Tier 1 position to Tier 4 before landing in the position I am in now. Tier 1 is the first “level” in the program, so your responsibilities are mostly security related. Tier 2 is when you learn more about telecommunications, plus some basic facilities-related studies. Tier 3 is more facility related. You assist with more power-adds or disconnect requests, as well as environmental management. The Tier 4 position encompasses essentially everything in terms of data center systems, with an additional focus on training and mentoring.
Each tier level carries more responsibility, and you earn the next level by training with your peers. The final step is an oral board exam where we stand up in front of our leadership team and demonstrate what we know through a series of questions pertaining to the qualification … kind of like oral exam part of the Ph.D. process.
My goal, my intended trajectory, was to become a manager and lead a team. The opportunity for that came when a previous manager took on a new role elsewhere. Eventually, I met with my manager, said I wanted that position and asked how to get there. I took the initiative, and here I am today. I’ve been with CoreSite for over 10 years. The Data Center Qualification Program began about five years ago, and it was life-changing for me.
How would you describe your team?
I say all the time, “I'm nothing without my team.” I am who I am because of my team – the ones who were here when I first began and those who are here now with me. We all take a sense of pride in accomplishing what we want to give to customers and what we want our site to look like. It really does drive us all. I feel like every day people love coming to work, not just because of the camaraderie but also because there's a big sense of pride in accomplishing the things we do here.
Will you give us a few examples of how your team assists customers?
The Remote Hands service helps customers with routine and emergency technical tasks. My team does things like rack and stack, circuit troubleshooting and rack-mounted power distribution unit installs. We troubleshoot fiber issues. We pick up packages from the loading dock and deliver them to customer spaces. What we do ranges from very simple to complicated – it just depends on the case ticket.
How does a typical customer deployment happen?
It’s a big group effort involving teams from different departments. The sales team sets up initial calls and works out the logistics around timing. The engineers mark-up drawings of the space that the customer will move into. The project management team will then take on the project and work with the on-site data center operations team to make sure the space will accommodate everything a customer wants, for example cabinet sizes, type of power, fiber connections, etc., even down to the degree of density, the amount of power that the customer plans on drawing. The data center operations team will work together with vendors to then build out the space to the customer’s spec and assist with the move-in.
Are you seeing changes in buildouts, given how quickly technology is changing?
We're getting more customer implementations, more deployments. We’re seeing a lot of interest in liquid cooling, which we can accommodate here in BO1. And higher density racks – a lot of GPU installs, which sometimes require cold aisle containment.
We have to ask about AI. How do you see it influencing your career?
AI is definitely a big thing. I think some people get nervous when they talk about it. But I don't see it affecting much of what happens with my team. We have a lot of customers that want to go to the cloud. That’s been a big conversation for years. But companies using the cloud now, they're still wanting the physical connections (cross connects) that we have with our carriers. They still want to rent space with us and have somebody that's really hands-on. I think it's just human nature to stick with the physicality of everything, and technicians who are qualified and educated are part of that.
Relationships are important. And sometimes people need to talk to solve problems. You'll see it on a case. It can be easier to get on the phone, say, “This is what's going on” and have complete understanding. Customers trust us to keep their businesses running, and person-to-person communication can bring peace of mind.
What would you say to people who want a career in the data center industry?
Come in and see what it's like. The most exciting thing for me about working in a data center is you're constantly learning. Every day is different. Every build is different. It's always a challenge. If you are the type of person who loves to learn and grow, this is the place for you. It’s been an exciting 10 years here, and we just continue to grow. It's a great field to be in.
A friend of mine, who worked as a part of the data center operations team, moved to project management based on his career in working with customers and building rapport. And now, he is a business analyst within CoreSite. So, you're really learning every single piece of this workplace.
When you start working here, you won’t know everything right away. But there's always an opportunity for you to continue to grow and say, “I really like that. I'm going to learn.” One of CoreSite’s core values is “Build Connections,” which really does come into play. Whether you’re interested in a more customer-facing role like project management, hands-on like the data center operations team or even behind the scenes like IT, data centers have a role for you. We are an ever-growing, ever-changing business … and that can be the most fun.
Know More
In our latest data center operations YouTube video series, Lauren Greski explains the four critical components that keep a data center running: power, cooling, security and compliance, and the data center operations team. Watch to learn how colocation data centers provide the infrastructure and expertise needed to support your IT strategy.
Interested in a career with great opportunity for growth in a hot industry? Review the career opportunities area of our site, and check out this blog to learn about our commitment to vision and values.