Ontario Ministry of Government Services Data Centre

operational

Opportunity The Ontario government’s 22 data centres housed critical information technology infrastructure needed to support essential public services, such as the radio dispatch network for emergency health services, health card and driver records, and electronic payment systems for social services. These data centres were aging and no longer capable of meeting the province’s expanding information technology needs. In order to ensure better online services, future reliability and enhanced security of personal information the government decided to consolidate data in one location and build the Ministry of Government Services (MGS) New Data Centre in Guelph, Ontario. Challenges In order to minimize disruption to the public, services were only moved over to the new centre during low traffic periods including overnights and weekends. Innovations Plenary Properties maintenance of the building and lifecycle repair and renewal must meet the performance requirements set out in the Project Agreement or it could face deductions to its monthly payments. Results The MGS New Data Centre was completed on-time and on-budget. The facility was designed for resource efficiency to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification. The new data centre has achieved Uptime Tier 4 certification—the highest standard for reliability and security— as set out by the Uptime Institute, an internationally recognized, third-party certification organization. At the time of construction there were fewer than five Tier 4 certificated sites globally. The MGS New Data Centre at all times remains publicly owned, publicly owned and publicly accountable.

High