Flintshire County Council – IT Infrastructure for Over 150,000 People

Flintshire County Council is the largest local authority in North Wales. With a small but highly skilled IT team, it ensures that over 150,000 citizens are reliably provided with digital public services.

The authority follows a clear strategy: using modern, sustainable technologies to increase efficiency, reduce operational costs, and strengthen digital resilience. Flintshire specifically focuses on solutions that are not only powerful but also low-maintenance and future-proof — such as PATCHBOX.

As part of a comprehensive data center migration, Flintshire was searching for a solution to make cabling more efficient, space-saving, and low-maintenance in the long term.

The team discovered PATCHBOX independently and coordinated delivery with the support of their long-standing IT partner, Recarta IT. The solution stood out for its ease of use, high quality, and smart design. After a brief evaluation, the decision was made to deploy it in the new central data center.

Facts about the Project

The initial situation was complex: two active data centers were to be migrated into a centralized infrastructure — all during ongoing operations.

For Flintshire, this was the largest infrastructure project in recent years, with corresponding pressure to execute it flawlessly.

The migration involved a complete shutdown of services, with all systems taken offline for three days to allow a full and controlled data center transition.

Cabling proved to be a particularly critical point. The team was working with traditional patch cables in varying lengths.

Finding the right length, laying, labeling, and documenting the cables took several hours per rack. Cabling errors or messy routing were common. The manual work was not only time-consuming but also error-prone.

Before & After

There were also logistical challenges: excess or insufficient cable lengths led to cable clutter or waste. Storage was complicated, and space was limited — especially after reducing office space. The IT department knew that a new solution was needed — one that would not only provide short-term relief but long-term benefits as well.

“In the past, it took half a day per rack — just for patching.”
— Paul Latham, Infrastructure Solutions Manager

Flintshire discovered PATCHBOX independently and engaged directly to negotiate the solution. Their long-time partner, Recarta IT, supported the process by assisting with delivery logistics and customs clearance. Everything was coordinated smoothly and without complications. The cooperation with the PATCHBOX team was equally smooth.

“Within a few hours of the request, we had prices confirmed, the order processed, and all logistical details sorted.”
— Ben Spode, Account Director, Recarta IT

Installation went smoothly. The new patchbox.one fiber optic system was mounted in just a few minutes. The integrated, retractable cables in exactly the right length made patching not only faster but significantly neater.

A particular highlight are the cables within the patchbox.one. It is equipped with ClearCurve® fibers from Corning — the most flexible fiber optic cables on the market. These enable reliable signal transmission even in tight bend radii and greatly contribute to easy and space-saving installation.

“Cabling time per rack dropped from four hours to just 20 minutes.”
— a huge time saver that had a noticeable impact across the entire project.

Michael Collins – Infrastructure Architect – still raves about the cabling process:
“It was so easy. No more cable clutter, no different lengths — it’s brilliant!”

Thanks to the 0 RU cable management, up to 50% more rack space is made available. The solution is not only efficient but also sustainable: no new cables need to be procured, storage demands have decreased dramatically, and rack organization is exemplary. Integration into existing DCIM systems also went without a hitch.

“Data cabling was a critical task that had to be completed quickly during our data center migration. The PATCHBOX solution significantly reduced the time required for this task and led to a well-organized set of data cabinets. Thanks to the flexibility of the solution, cables can be installed in exactly the required length, ensuring that both current and future needs result in cleanly arranged racks in our data center”, said Aled Griffith, IT Infrastructure Services Manager and Co-Head of the IT Department.

PATCHBOX helped Flintshire County Council tackle one of its largest IT challenges in recent years — efficiently, sustainably, and in a future-ready way.

The close cooperation with Recarta IT and the seamless implementation of the solution led to measurable success — and a data center ready for the future.