KEY FACTS

Location: Austin, TX

Type: Data Center Decommissioning

Scope: Dismantle and remove all data center equipment

Duration: 2 weeks

Client: CSC

Quantum Technology was referred to CSC, a global IT services company, to help with their 8,000 sq ft data center in Austin, TX. Their lease had expired and the next door tenant wanted to move into their space. CSC was on the hook for removing all equipment from the site and returning it to original condition. That’s where Quantum came in.
In only two weeks, we were able to do a full disconnect of the site’s Eaton UPS’s, DataAire CRAC units, safely remove and recycle lead-acid batteries, lift all raised access flooring, and otherwise disconnect remaining server cabinets and electrical infrastructure.
There were special challenges associated with this job. Our team’s time in Austin, TX overlapped with the South by Southwest music festival. The festival attracts musical acts and fans from around the world, showcasing 2,371 artists, including 553 from 57 foreign countries.
Over 28,000 visitors flooded Austin, making the removal of the CSC equipment into a logistical nightmare. Streets were blocked off. Trucks had trouble getting in. To cap it off, there was only a small dock and it could only fit straight trucks. Quantum innovated a new technique for loading that successfully navigated the city traffic, and loading limitations.
By removing all the equipment and pulling up the raised floor, we were able to bring the suite back to its original condition when CSC first leased it. We paid them for the equipment and did all the labor for free. 
Notably we didn’t put anything in the landfill. Quantum Technology resold all the assets. Even the raised access flooring tiles with major cuts in them, notoriously hard to reuse, were given away to local residents for use as a splash guard for work areas, and flooring. They were greatly appreciative, saying, “We think it’s a good product. It was very well-constructed.” The fibre was given to a local IT maintenance person.

Mark Ranus from CSC:
“I thought the project went well. They did a very thorough job of getting everything out. They had to get everything out down to the concrete floor, removing the raised flooring, all the infrastructure equipment, everything in the data center space. They worked well with the other contractor that was in there, doing other work for the landlord. There was good coordination. They stuck to their time schedule and were very quick to fulfill any financial obligations. They stuck to their word and I would use them again.”

The Whole Package of Data Center Decommissioning