The foundational power of operating a DCOS-3 data centre
Ilkari’s new data centre in Colombia is the first in North and South America with a DCOS-3 certified data centre.
Ilkari is one of only 25 global companies operating a data centre with a Data Centre Operating System (DCOS) Maturity Level 3 certification. As the first to achieve Level 3 in North and South America in August 2024, we provide our customers improved risk mitigation, operational efficiency and reliable structure to the data centre.
In 2024, there were approximately 11,800 data centres worldwide. With the data centre market valued at $214 billion in 2023 and a projected value of $421.4 billion by 2030, it is easy to see how data centres have become foundational assets for global companies, safeguarding privacy and data sovereignty in the midst of a data boom driven by artificial intelligence.
With so much at stake, it will come as no surprise that operating and managing a modern data centre is a significant responsibility—to business continuity, maintaining data sovereignty, employee safety and the environmental impact of the centre’s activity.
From a people perspective, a data centre is a high-risk working environment. Policies and protocols must be in place to protect employees from high-voltage dangers and the threat of fire suppression gases, maintaining a standard of excellence that keeps them safe at all times.
On the customer side, enterprises rely on one of the most critical assets of a data centre: uptime to keep a business running 24/7 and ensuring data sovereignty.
From an environmental perspective, data centres have a responsibility to manage power usage to lessen environmental impact.
Modern data centre excellence
All three of these factors should not happen by chance.
Yes, you can build the ultimate safe, energy-efficient, modern data centre, but without the strategic processes and maintenance programmes, even the most resilient designs can fail.
From Ilkari’s perspective, this is why the Data Centre Operations Standards (DCOS) maturity level is critical to a modern data centre facility. It ensures the safety of employees, business integrity, uptime and data sovereignty, and meeting environmental and sustainability goals.
The DCOS maturity level standards were developed based on the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), specifically adapted for the data centre environment.
The DCOS standards were developed by EPI, a standardisation body based in Singapore, in 1987. EPI works with subject matter experts around the world to base its stringent standards, which are updated annually to ensure they remain aligned with the rapid DC evolution/dynamics. They look at every operational standard in a data centre and require an external sign-off from a certified organisation.
The significance of a DCOS Maturity Level 3
DCOS Maturity Level 3 refers to an advanced level of operational maturity for an organisation using data centre operational standards. While there is no formal, universally defined maturity model for DCOS, many maturity frameworks, such as Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) or DevOps maturity models, define Level 3 as a key essential stage where processes are well-defined, standardised and actively managed.
In September 2024, Ilkari achieved DCOS Maturity Level 3, the first in Latin America and one of only 25 data centres globally to achieve this designation.
For us, achieving Level 3 one month after our data centre launched in August 2024 was a milestone on many levels. First, we are part of an elite group of global data centres that have achieved Level 3 alongside some of the world’s largest data centres, which have been established longer than our new facility in the Tocancipá Free Trade Zone near Bogotá, Colombia.
Second, Ilkari committed to ensuring that standards and certifications would be rolled into our business as usual workload. And last, we wanted to be that one data centre in a sea of thousands of data centres that continuously improved and set new standards as we grew. And here’s a little secret: You can only set new standards if you allocate the required time across the organisation each day you operate. For us, that was foundational.
Know your DCOS levels
DCOS has five levels – one through five moving from initial, repeatable, defined, managed and optimised.
The first two levels of a data centre’s operations are left mainly to luck with a reliance on personnel.
But it is at Level 3 where differences start to emerge and what you should look at when assessing where your data will live. Level 3 is defined and means that all procedures have been standardised and significantly documented. This is a monumental undertaking and removes luck – good or bad from how a data centre is managed.
Ilkari is currently moving beyond Level 3 and is on an aggressive march towards DCOS Level 4 by Q3 2025. We have escalated our processes around measurement and control, focusing on the highest standard of continuous improvement.
The DCOS certification process has a wide-ranging impact on our entire data centre organisation now and on planned future facilities. These elements impact safety, service, security management, environmental sustainability, reporting, and, importantly, organisational resilience.
We will continue working with EPI as we move to DCOS Level 4, ensuring we remain ahead of the curve on upholding our responsibility to our staff, our customers and the environment.
Ready to ensure your data sovereignty with a DCOS Maturity Level 3 data centre? Contact Juan Aguirre, Chief Commercial Officer at Ilkari.
