CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES
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“Canadian Blood Services is the first place where I ’ ve had the opportunity to make a difference to somebody ’ s personal life , as opposed to just improving the bottom line , or increasing shareholder value . It ’ s a nice feeling ”
— David Grant , Associate Director , Enterprise Services , Canadian Blood Services of those commercial ones , it becomes enormously expensive and , in some cases , just isn ’ t feasible .”
With a career spanning more than 20 years in the data center space , Grant came to Canadian Blood Services in 2016 . We sat down with him to discuss his role in the organization ’ s recently completed migration from two legacy data centers in Ottawa to commercially operated colocation facilities , a move calculated to ensure the safety and resilience of Canadian Blood Services ’ vital IT operations .
Founded in 1998 , Canadian Blood Services is the country ’ s lifeline , providing a link between the generosity of over 410,000 annual blood , plasma and organ donors from Vancouver to Newfoundland , and the patients that need it . “ We drive the donor experience so that it ’ s as pleasant as possible in order to encourage people to continue in their generosity . At the same time , we continue to innovate and improve the products we offer , so that we can improve patient outcomes and ultimately save lives . It ’ s quite a mission to be involved in ,” enthuses Grant . “ I ’ ve worked in IT for a long time , but Canadian Blood Services is the first
SEPTEMBER 2019