Vantage Data Centers uses Procore to Effectively Support Global Expansion

The Challenge

Vantage Data Centers has provided innovative data centre campuses for cloud providers, hyper-scalers and leading technology companies since 2010. The company is sought after for the efficient, turnkey solutions for scalable infrastructure it offers across five continents. However, with a large volume of business and so many massive projects to do, Vantage needed an efficient, effective solution of its own to better manage these projects and improve their financial health with the use of data insights.

The Solution

After implementing Procore, Vantage has seen major increases in project efficiency, forecasting and financial predictions. Procore’s construction-specific, cloud-based platform has given Vantage access to an abundance of actionable data, ultimately helping the company in its mission of global expansion.

The Results

• Procore provides robust analytics and benchmarking tools to track KPIs and assess project health. Leveraging the platform, Vantage maintains a competitive edge
• With Procore, Vantage has improved financial management across the board
• Vantage’s information is now organised automatically, and communication is facilitated from anywhere, at any time

Accurate Benchmarking and Analytics

As Vantage Data Centers undergoes exponential global expansion, it relies on Procore's ability to provide global benchmarking and analytics. Before implementing Procore, Vantage was at a disadvantage in terms of accessing real-time data and statistics on its projects. Fortunately, teams at Vantage now have the ability to unlock actionable insights from their data.

As an Owner, perhaps the most important improvement for Vantage has been in financial benchmarking which helps Vantage make informed decisions when entering new regions. Abhilash Kunnatoor Margabandu, Director of Solutions Architecture & Engineering commented on this, saying, “[Vantage is] building in new regions, and we need to understand what it costs and how long it takes in certain regions so that we can determine things like how much is spent per megawatt in a particular region. Then, we can use that benchmarking when going into a new market.” Procore's project and portfolio analysis tools give Vantage an accurate view of data, allowing the company to align more easily with its values and make decisions with integrity.

Procore has also allowed Vantage users to track key performance indicators (also known as KPIs) critical to its business. One such KPI for Vantage is safety. Margabandu said, “when it comes to benchmarking, for Vantage, safety is super important because we do industrialised, fast-track projects. When we are going that fast, safety is more important because…there are more elements at play — more people, more workers working weekends, etc. We want to make sure that safety and progress go hand-in-hand, and not one over the other.”

Additionally, the Procore platform also enables Vantage to assess project health. Margabandu stated that with Procore, they can “do data analytics and benchmarking to see how a project is doing, whether it’s in Montreal, Quebec, California, Virginia or Berlin. It [provides] the platform needed to capture data to see how [Vantage] is tracking on KPIs that are important to the company.” By leveraging Procore's platform to gain a better understanding of its performance, Vantage is better equipped to make informed decisions and maintain a competitive edge in a rapidly expanding market.

Improved Financial Management

Standardising the collection and reporting of financial data gathered in the field has made it significantly easier for Vantage to manage all financial information in one place. Margabandu explained, “with Procore Analytics, we created custom dashboards for project health, specifically focusing on schedule and finance analytics. The dashboard includes a drop-down list of all our projects, and Power BI pulls in data to show how each project is performing. This allows our regional directors and VP-level executives to see which projects need attention quickly. For example, they can identify projects that are behind schedule or over budget. The dashboard also highlights projects that are doing well, with good schedules and budgets. By pinpointing where attention is needed, our regional and continental leaders can focus their efforts and resources more effectively."

Alongside project health, Vantage has significantly improved its financial decision-making capabilities. Because Procore allows owners to track and manage every dollar spent, it provides real-time visibility into Vantage’s financial position across their entire portfolio. In addition, with Procore Analytics, Vantage is empowered to make informed decisions about where to allocate resources and which projects to prioritise. Vantage is able to accurately forecast its costs and make course corrections to stay on track, allowing the company to engage in more accurate planning and avoid cost overruns.

By using available financial data from nearby regions as a benchmark to make informed decisions when entering new markets, Vantage is able to determine what its budget should be for a particular project, and make more accurate selections. This approach has helped Vantage expand globally with greater confidence and efficiency.

Increased Organisation and Communication

Because Vantage offers customers a turnkey solution for their data centres, it’s in charge of everything from design to finish — paperwork, finances, timelines and more. Understandably, keeping track of all of these moving parts throughout the duration of a project took monumental effort prior to implementing Procore. However, Vantage no longer has to think about data organisation, as Procore does it for them instantly.

Vantage Data Centers' information is now organised from start to finish, and communication is facilitated from anywhere, at any time. A large part of this organisation has stemmed from being able to seamlessly integrate with other platforms, enabling an organised flow of information. In that regard, Margabandu shared that, “when we can integrate other companies, it provides a centralised source of truth for all of the stakeholders we work with, whether it’s the safety department, operations, customer, engineers or field people. Procore can also talk to other platforms so that we don't have to go to 10 different locations to get information.” With things like push communication and project health highlights in a portfolio view, users at Vantage no longer struggle to access real-time data. This has enhanced project health on every job and enables Vantage to focus on its success as a company. As Margabandu said, “there's not much time spent on organising data, because the data organisation happens at the very start. That helps us with saving time, and time is money.”