Updates

NEXTDC have a documented and detailed Business Continuity Plan (BCP) which includes specifically a COVID-19 (Coronavirus) specific Pandemic Plan. NEXTDC’s BCP and Pandemic Plans have been implemented to protect the health and wellbeing of NEXTDC staff and customers, as well as ensure the continued operation and security of our data centres.

The NEXTDC leadership team and health advisors are monitoring the developments of the COVID-19 health situation and we will continue to follow the guidance and directions issued by local government health authorities.

NEXTDC operate exceptionally high standards of health and hygiene throughout our footprint. During this time of uncertainty, we have implemented additional rigorous cleaning and sanitation services, on top of our usual standards of cleanliness and health and safety.

• Vigilance in the thorough daily cleaning and treatment of facilities and their surfaces
• Close attention is paid to sanitising high traffic common areas
• Ongoing sanitation of commonly used touch points, such as door handles, bio-readers, elevator buttons and handrails
• Hand sanitation stations are provided. Disposable towels and hand dryers are located in the amenities
• Disposable face masks are available upon request at every front desk
• Signage throughout each facility, encouraging visitors to be proactive in recognising symptoms associated with COVID-19 and take every precaution to prevent contamination.

Additionally NEXTDC have taken the necessary steps to limit the congregation of groups throughout our data centres at this time. As such, access to customer break out spaces and meeting room facilities will be restricted. Customers will still have the ability to help themselves to refreshment facilities that are located in break out spaces, however we recommend that customers and visitors refrain from congregating in these areas.

All non-business critical data centre staff have been mobilised to work from home.

• If a team member, their immediate family or household members, have travelled through countries deemed to be at high risk of being exposed to COVID-19, they will not attend any NEXTDC office or data centre for a period of 14 days
• If a team member develops any identified symptoms, they will self-isolate and will not return to work until medical clearance is received
• If a team member comes in to contact with a person who is suspected to have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus, they will self-isolate for 14 days and return after self-isolation concludes, or medical clearance is received.

Additionally NEXTDC has implemented travel restrictions for all employees and have minimised all non-critical domestic travel. Staff will not attend any large-scale events and will aim to attend all meetings via video-conferencing facilities.

NEXDC are continuing to follow the guidance and directions that have been provided by the Australian Government, as well as advice provided by local health specialists. NEXTDC have mobilised our BCP response plan, which is specifically designed to support all necessary decisions and changes that need to be implemented as circumstances evolve.

Yes. Our data centres maintain their 24/7 operation and we continue to offer all necessary support to customers to help you stay connected and maintain productivity during this time. As such, our BCP and Pandemic Plans have been implemented which are specifically designed to enable the continuation of the business running 24/7 operations.

Access should be limited to essential visits only and all visitors must now obtain approval before attending site.

In order to maintain a safe environment, we remain vigilant in adhering to health and safety measures, as well as the strict social distancing laws communicated by the Australian Government and local health officials. We recently communicated the next level of precautionary measures that NEXTDC have implemented, which require us to limit all physical site access, reserving it for emergencies and circumstances that cannot be avoided.

As we continue to adapt to the rapidly changing environment, changes to site access processes which are specified below;

• Site access and attendance onsite is required to be limited to only those times that cannot be avoided.
• All visitors to any NEXTDC data centre (including permanent IDAC holders) need to obtain approval to access site prior to attending. Approval can be requested by submitting Contractor Access request via ONEDC. Email confirmation will be sent upon approval. Review instructions on raising a contractor access request.
• Where there are onsite support tasks that NEXTDC can carry out for customers, we ask that a Remote Hands ticket is raised in ONEDC.
• All non-standard Remote Hands requests will be assessed and confirmed with customers directly.
• In circumstances where Remote Hands assistance cannot be carried out in the appropriate time frame, or in alignment with the scope of work, physical access to the data centre should be requested via ONEDC in the form of a contractor access request. Approval is required prior to arriving on site.
• In the event of an emergency where expedited site access is required, proceed with raising a contractor access ticket in ONEDC. Once a ticket ID has been generated, email nxtops@nextdc.com with the following subject header: URGENT: ticket number | expedited site access required | data centre location and the NEXTDC team will respond to your request as soon as possible.
• If you are a supplier or a contractor who does not have access to ONEDC, please email your access request directly to nxtops@nextdc.com.

Remote hands support can be requested through ONEDC at any time. Our data centre technicians will work with your team to offer all necessary assistance such as (but not limited to) delivery acceptance or guided tour support, through to power cycling and rack and stacking. If there is non-standard support needed, please reach out to the Customer Experience Team directly on 1300 698 677 and we will make every effort to assist you where possible.

In the event of a confirmed case of COVID-19 that has attended one of NEXTDC’s data centres, NEXTDC will proceed to evacuate all staff and visitors from the facility in order to activate the sterilisation process as part of our Pandemic Plan. Should this situation arise, remote management protocols of the facility will be initiated immediately in order to maintain 100% operations for customers. Once the full sterilisation of the facility has concluded, NEXTDC will deploy non-rostered staff within the period in question, to support the facility and re-open for customer access. Customers attending the facility during the time of the virus being within the facility will be asked not to return for 14 days from the date they last visited.

NEXTDC takes the privacy of its people, customers and partners seriously and as such will not disclose any kind of personal information that may be used to identify the person in question.

NEXTDC’s cleaning is carried out by an industrial grade, specialised contractor. In the event where facility sterilisation is required, the contracted cleaning team are required to wear certified Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and must use commercial grade disinfectant on all surfaces. All cleaning product or PPE left over from the sterilisation process will be removed and discarded offsite, so as to ensure no further exposure to potential virus spread.

For the health and welfare of our customers, there will be no access to the data centre during either of these periods. If there is an urgent need, please contact the Customer Experience team and we will endeavour to do everything possible to support you onsite.