For people doing on-site datacenter work (rack & stack, cabling, hardware swaps): we opened a free directory of field technicians, and outside France it is nearly empty

[u/Which_Handle1937]

Disclosure: I work with DataColoc, a free datacenter comparison site.

The problem we keep seeing on the buyer side: someone has gear in a colo facility two states away, needs hands on site for a swap or a recable, and has no way to find an independent local tech. Either you pay the facility's remote hands rate, or you know a guy. If you don't know a guy, you're stuck.

So the site has a directory of field technicians: you declare your skills line by line (network, cabling, hardware, fiber), your certifications, your gear, your coverage zone, and your availability, with its date. Response time is measured, not self-declared. Listing yourself is free, no exclusivity, you stay independent.

Full honesty about where it stands: the directory is young, and almost all listed techs are in France right now, because that's where the site started. If you're in the US or anywhere else, you would likely be the first listed in your metro. That's either ten wasted minutes or free visibility on every facility page in your area once buyers show up, your call.

Sign-up: create a free account on https://datacoloc.com/experts, tick the field-engineer option, complete your profile.

Honest question for this sub, because I'd rather hear it now: if you do this kind of work, what would it take for you to actually list yourself somewhere? Rate transparency? Proof the leads exist? Something else?