Kao Data Campus achieves multiple ISO certifications

 Kao Data has successfully and simultaneously attained International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Accreditation across the four key standards to engage stakeholders throughout all aspects of data centre management and operations; ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001 and ISO 45001 with zero non-conformities.

Paul Finch, COO at Kao Data said, “With today’s heightened sensitivity to assured and secure data centre and data continuity, our customers and their end-users require a robust and independent validation that their chosen service provider is standards compliant across the board from corporate governance and regulatory requirements, to organisational resilience, proactive risk prevention, innovation and continual improvement.”

The company has achieved the following credentials with zero non-conformities:

• ISO 9001 Quality Management
• ISO 14001 Environmental Management
• ISO 27001 Information Security Management
• ISO 45001 Occupational Health & Safety Management

Jashan Babra, Compliance Manger, Kao Data, commented, “Any organisation that has undertaken a single ISO standard certification will understand the amount of energy that Kao Data has invested to complete this enormous task. Our selected consultants and advisors, Keysource and Teamwork IMS, working along with UKAS Accreditors, Alcumus ISOQAR, ensured the broader Integrated Management System (IMS) was tailored to meet the specific needs of a data centre business. This focused approach allowed us to address this complex business programme developing and deploying the IMS within a ten-month timeframe.”

Paul Finch stated, “The Kao Data strategic platform is highly engineered, utilising 100% ‘free-cooling’ to reduce the complexity of both the mechanical and electrical systems. This results in an ultra-low PUE even at very low customer IT utilisation. Achieving compliance with ISO Standards is a customer-driven requirement which demonstrates the effectiveness of Kao Data’s business processes and commitment to improve operational performance, provide increased assurance and reduce the environmental impact of the business, as well as demonstrating a robust approach to managing information security.”

Gaining accreditation is not the final destination, a key requirement of the ISO Standards is the drive for continual improvement. ISO9001:2015 standard states: “The organisation shall continually improve the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the Quality Management System.” It is also mandatory to have at least one surveillance audit visit per year to ensure Kao Data is meeting its requirements. This audit will sample the ongoing effectiveness of the IMS and a report will outline the results, including any non-conformities or other observations. The ISO Standards are completely re-audited every third-year to identify key strengths, weaknesses and non-conformance.