Frequently Asked Questions

We are now firmly established in Europe through our northern European and southern European hubs. We are looking to increase these networks by opening operations in Amsterdam, Paris and Madrid in the coming months which is complemented by associations with local consultancies that enable us to deliver our global expertise locally. We are also currently delivering services in the MENA region as well as South Korea and Taiwan and have been asked to explore operations in Japan. We are continually looking to expand our coverage and geography is no boundary.

While in Europe it is usual to have a combined role of project and cost management, a dedicated cost manager (CM) with a traditional Quantity Surveying background provides a more robust, transparent, and risk-reduced approach to controlling and tracking costs on a project. The CM is involved in the early design stages setting design targets, works closely with the design team and can impact the cost development throughout the project. The CM manages the cost proactively as opposed to tracking results.

Our client base ranges from technical real estate developers to large enterprises to utility providers stretching from hyperscale to hybrid and edge solutions. Some are well-known US/UK companies, others local companies, at times new to the data centre market. We support our clients with due diligence in the early stages, project and cost manage projects during design stages and support with these services throughout construction and close out.

We have a northern European hub based in Frankfurt which is complemented by a southern European hub based in Milan to serve our clients and projects throughout Europe. The teams are multi-lingual and know the local markets. By working closely with our centre of excellence, we make sure valuable knowledge is transferred across our international business delivering global expertise localised for resident markets.

Transparency is the practice of being open and honest with others, no matter how challenging it might be. For both personal and professional relationships to thrive, BCS eliminate the stigma that comes with being straightforward. Transparency in our day to day performance means that we encourage clear communication, collaboration, and a stronger understanding of project challenges as well as other aspects of your business. Being transparent with our clients means that it’ll be much easier to get to know one another, which creates trust and will make the team work more efficiently.

In the first instance we produce a cost model on day one based on our clients design brief that was signed off as part of the business case. Once established, we help manage the design team and inform them of any commercial implications in design development meetings whilst setting design cost targets. During the design phase we price various engineering topology solutions and work with the design team to establish the most economical solution for our clients. In addition, we lead value engineering workshops and work collaboratively with the design team to explore options and alternative solutions.

We have collected data from over €10bn of projects managed with a deployed IT load of over 4GW. These projects range from Edge installations to hyperscale deployments. The data is harvested and categorised into project type, location, project topology and then the technical data sorted at macro and micro levels to reflect industry KPI's. This then allows us to analyse relevant data and apply it to smilar types of projects to derive accurate cost models, generate performance targets and establish business case baselines.

BCS Utilities will realise reductions in the capital cost of installation through the rationalisation of design. This is only achievable where the de-regulated market can be engaged. This approach also enables programmes and costs to be fixed and introduces the opportunity for staged procurement and below the line asset value rebate revenues to be realised. BCS Utilities understands how network configuration and metering strategies impact both the Capital cost of installation and the ongoing wholesale operational costs for power. BCS Utilities expert consultants will provide commercial modelling services in advance of design, procurement, and adoption to ensure that costs are not only considered during pre-construction but also over the operational life of the network or asset. BCS Utilities provides its clients with a competitive edge by developing dynamic design, procurement and operational strategies that deliver whole lifecycle efficiencies.

Our teams invest time to ensure that they understand the environmental sustainability ambitions of our client’s businesses and projects they are delivering, in measurable terms. We make sure that those aims are articulated in project briefs and that the programme, cost, and quality implications are given attention from day one. Through knowledge share and data capture, we have built an understanding of efficient design in the territories and locations in which we work. We use our voice in design workshops and other project environments to guide designers and clients towards value for money and practical solutions whilst keeping an eye on the developing sustainability agenda to ensure our client’s assets are future ready. Amongst our senior team, we have published authors and public speaking experience in this arena, ensuring that our business shares what it knows with the communities that it works within.

At BCS we understand the value creation that arises through people focussed partnerships. We know that solutions found for our clients are stronger for the partnerships and connections that we build with them and wider project teams. We recruit and train our people with a focus not just on ability but also on behaviours. We lead by example with the clients and other professionals that we work with, acknowledging and embracing individual strengths and differences so that project benefits and business cases are realised.

Notably for the European market, our vast experience and specialism to the Data Centre sector provides unparalleled expertise and added value to our clients. Further, our dedicated cost management team provides our clients the assurance and guidance on cost throughout the entire project cycle.

BCS Utilities' expert consultants are skilled in commercial, technical, and regulatory fields and will support a project through site evaluation, due diligence, the formulation of feasibility studies & reports, commercial management / estimation, procurement, and project delivery.

BCS Utilities can support its clients during pre-construction and construction across all real estate environments, with a tangible value add offering regardless of the size of the project.

BCS Utilities will seek to secure the true “minimum scheme” (the most competitive connection proposal) for a project by supporting its clients' power capacity requirements with dynamic strategies developed within the boundaries of regulation and deregulation. Bespoke strategies are developed based on the requirements for each project with an emphasis on commercial / technical efficiency and assured outcomes. BCS Utilities will establish the capabilities of a dynamic local networks and will challenge the minimum scheme through local knowledge and an understanding of the networks. Where possible diversity and the rationalisation of peak power capacity will be discussed and considered to reduce the tipping point of the network and possible upstream reinforcement requirements. Our experts will develop technical and commercial strategies based on qualitative and quantitative assessment and will use the deregulated marketplace to provide alternative options for connection and supply.