IT is an indispensable part of everything at LCL. It’s what we do, what we feel passionate about and what we feel committed to deliver excellence in. Since the early days of LCL, Sam Berckmans was the expert in charge of all things related to IT. But since a few weeks, Yannick Coppieters joined the IT team. With this expansion, LCL will focus on upgrading the access control and monitoring systems, and delivering an even bigger commitment to customer intimacy.

Sometimes the small things can have a big impact. Because it was actually LCL’s LinkedIn post that made Yannick apply for the job. Yannick: “A friend of mine came across LCL’s social media post about the vacancy for a System and Monitoring Engineer. He notified me, thinking I would be interested. And indeed, I was!” To Yannick, LCL was already a well-known organisation. “Before my job at LCL, I worked for VSK Electronics. VSK is the supplier of the complete security solution that LCL has installed, such as access control, camera surveillance, intrusion detection and perimeter detection. I had been coming to LCL for years and was already familiar with the team and the overall atmosphere. I always enjoyed going to LCL; I like their way of working and the values they have. So, it seemed like the perfect position for me.”

Implementing high-quality access control systems

With his 9 years of experience in implementing security systems, Yannick will work on upgrading LCL’s access control systems, camera surveillance and other high-quality security tools. Yannick: “The project I’m mainly focused on is standardising advanced security systems for all data center sites. We are currently working on the site in Antwerp and will continue this process for all our locations. We want to guarantee our customers the latest technology and security systems.” He will work side-by-side with LCL’s IT Systems Manager Sam, which is an exciting development for LCL’s IT department. Sam: “With the addition of Yannick, we can focus solely on advancing our high-quality security systems. I feel very pleased that we can elevate LCL’s IT with this newly created position. Today, our installation and optimisation of security and monitoring systems are mostly outsourced. Since we are growing as a company, we want to expand our expertise internally. It will not only make us more efficient, but also of better assistance to our customers. We now have more resources to solve problems instantly.”

Team expansion leads to bigger investments and improvements in IT

One of the benefits of the expansion of the IT team, is being able to offer customers more continuity and commitment. Sam: “We see a growth in IT systems needed to run our data centers for our customers. We are always looking for innovative solutions to elevate our access control and security. For example, we implemented a self-service registration desk, the LCL Identifier, to register our data center visitors with ID check and biometric enrolment. Besides that, we have a biometric access control system; no one can enter our data center without two-factor verification. All these systems run on IT equipment that needs to be available at all times. Also, when it comes to the building of our two newest data centers, we want to make sure that all our sites are of the same high-quality standards. We want to offer more continuity, more security and overall improvement and commitment to our security and monitoring systems. What’s definitely great about working with Yannick, is that he basically knew what to do from the first day in his job. Not only does he have tremendous experience, but he’s also familiar with LCL. I am super excited that he’s joining my team.”

Monitoring of the data centers

Besides the access control systems and camera surveillance, Yannick will also work on the monitoring of the data centers. Sam: “Our monitoring systems monitors different metrics about our data center facilities, for example temperature, humidity, electrical power, leak detection and so on. It’s important for a data center to have a good overall view of the facility. Not only for a correct live monitoring and overview of the alarms. But also for correct power measurement for customers and to make our data centers more efficient, which has an important impact regarding our sustainability goals.”

Motivation and a passion for IT

As the IT Systems Manager, Sam is very committed to LCL. He has been working for the organisation since 2014. Sam: “I started working at LCL as a Site Engineer. Over the years, my role expanded with more responsibilities. Now I’m the IT Systems Manager of 5 data centers. I learned a lot on the job, and it’s great that LCL offers those possibilities. I believe that working in IT starts from a passion. If you’re not passionate, it is really hard to work in a 24/7 continuously changing environment. We are committed to keep IT always running and make improvements when and where needed. So, I’m very happy to see that Yannick has that same drive.” Yannick: “IT is indeed a passion of mine. In my spare time I have always been involved with working on computers, servers and systems. But I have also interests such as home automation, audio engineering and 3D printing. Technology has always fascinated me. I enjoy making things work and solving problems. So yes, I’m very excited about this opportunity at LCL, and all the things I get to learn more about.”

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