Interxion Puts Data Centre Staff In Pods For Olympics

Data centre firm Interxion has installed sleeping pods in the breakout area of its London site, so its staff can be on call 24×7 during any transport disruption due to this summer’s Olympics.

While other firms such as O2 are testing out the idea of staff working from home during Olympic travel chaos, which has been predicted by the government and Transport for London, there are some jobs that need on-site staff, and managing Interxion’s networks asnd servers is one of them.  Three pods in the breakout area will provide a cosy – if somewhat minimal – sleeping environment for engineering staff during the event.

Excited about the Olympics

“Due to the nature of our business we need to be ready for all eventualities and while we are excited to have the Olympics in London we also need to be sure that we can continue to offer the highest level of resilience to our customers,” said Greg McCulloch, UK managing director of Interxion.

The pods are made in Battersea, South West London, by PodTime, and are also being aimed at airports, stations and motorway service areas.

“We see the sleeping pods as a good cheap solution for those ‘staff-critical’ companies which must have 24/7 cover for vital procedures,” said Jon Gray, director at Podtime.

By eliminating some travel, the pods will also have a small impact on the envornmental cost of Interxion’s data centre – something the company has in mind. It recently moved its Brick Lane centre over to 100 percent green electricity.

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