Three questions to Jacob Peces – Head of NOC in Ciudad Real: “Teamwork and Training driving excellence”

1) What are the biggest challenges in managing a 24/7 NOC with high team rotation and constant service demands?

The main difficulty in a 24/7 NOC with potentially high turnover is ensuring the continuity and quality of service despite the relentless pace of work. There are constantly requests to attend to and shifts to cover, so the team is under permanent pressure. Turnover is a natural flow that must be strategically managed; our challenge is to avoid knowledge loss and fatigue. We have implemented a staggered development model where basic operational levels (Level 1) serve as a talent pool. These qualified but less experienced professionals receive intensive training during their first months, developing within operational groups that regularly feed the upper levels (Level 2 and above). 
 
This approach allows us to retain knowledge and continue the training development cycle while managing natural turnover, ensuring continuous coverage without compromising service quality. 
 
Fluid communication between shifts, with clear documentation and processes, prevents repeated mistakes. Internal professional growth is one of the main goals for the personnel who are part of the teams, and we have been achieving it successfully for several years, having filled a large percentage of upper-level positions from the talent pool. This is also supported by a culture of collaboration among the members of the operational groups when a new member joins at any level. 
In summary, we combine clear strategy, strong leadership, and reliable processes to transform the 24/7 pressure into a driver for internal growth, evolving internal talent. 

2) What processes or principles make our NOC truly resilient and scalable for the future?

The resilience and scalability of the NOC are based on robust processes and clear principles. We have a staggered model that allows us to train internal talent for new challenges: first-level technicians acquire knowledge and are ready to take on more responsibilities as the workload grows or new development opportunities arise. 

Our strategy includes constant review of operational processes and metrics (KPIs) to ensure agility and compliance with SLAs. This continuous improvement approach maintains the reliability of our services, synergies, and collaboration alongside new projects or services. 
 
The balance in workload and automation aimed at optimizing routine tasks and enhancing staff capabilities contributes to efficiency. Overall, the combination of growing internal talent, standardized processes, and a culture of resilience makes our NOC truly scalable and prepared for the future.

3) How do you balance automation with the human factor in such a critical environment?

Automation and the human factor are complementary in such a critical environment as our NOC. We automate routine tasks (initial monitoring, alerts, reports) to free the team from repetitive tasks and minimize errors. However, the human element is essential for complex decisions, customer communication, and the resolution of unforeseen situations. Our strategy prioritizes process optimization, making use of technology to empower the team.

To balance both factors, the team works with smart tools but maintains final control of each process. This reinforces resilience: technology helps us respond quickly, while people contribute judgment, experience, and empathy in each interaction. In the end, we focus on having the leaders of the operational groups, sometimes with support or through their own experience, propose new automation ideas, always keeping the human element at the center of the operation.