What an incredible couple of days at the Data Centre LIVE: Summit in London, the first in-person version of this event.
Splitting time between the Enterprise Theatre, Learning Lab and Think Tank over both days was challenging, but listening to insightful discussions around power support for AI evolution, energy transition, DC strategies and exploring how sovereignty is evolving across control, resilience, trust and AI capability was a real pleasure.
Discussions on improvements for community engagement continue to highlight the vast amount of work that still needs to be done. Clear messaging around recycling of materials, use of local transport (carbon footprint reduction), providing local hospitals and new housing estates with low grade heat as well as lowering PUE's and putting MW back into waste energy reuse - signs that sizeable steps are being taken, as Richard Haigh from Vantage referred to during his conversation with Tim Curtis from BizClik.
Addressing the myth of data centre water consumption was another key subject discussed in the final AI Data Centre panel of the day with Jean-François Berche from GreenScale stating that the public perception of a data centre’s resource consumption is exagerated with Jamie Allen referencing reuse through closed-loop cooling systems that most (not all) have now accepted as a necessity.
Key themes of the day
- Increasing AI demand moving infrastructure from MW to GW territory at a phenomenal rate - how global DC backup demand will outstrip supply over the next 3 years.
- Power availability and how disruptive these constraints have now become - energy resilience has now become a strategic business priority
- The data centre sector needs to work harder on improving and controlling the narrative with honesty, transparency and communicating both short, mid and long-term benefits.
- Talent shortage challenges that need immediate attention (not in 3-6 months) with identification of transferable options and possibilities, a key talking point.
- Quantum computing, how it might converge with AI in the data centres of the future.
- Sustainability of data centres is being scrutinised more than ever with discussions around PPA’s, net zero, microgrids and back-up power.
On day 2, I had the privilege of listening to the Women in Data Centres panel, where accomplished professionals and DC experts shared their experiences across operations, cooling systems, sustainability, engineering and procurement and how dependence on these key domains continues to keep the industry moving.
The discussion explored the importance of diversity and inclusion across the data centre industry, the opportunities and challenges facing women in the sector and how organisations can continue to build a more inclusive future for digital infrastructure.
The depth of knowledge on display was a reminder of the considerable expertise already embedded across the industry. What also became clear is that these conversations must remain not just relevant but central, and that the true measure of progress will be the day when professionals across AI evolution, microgrid developments, and operational resilience sit alongside each other as a matter of course, recognised for expertise alone.
Also on Day 2, it was great listening to Oliver Schiebel at hscale on creating AI-ready white space, explaining how the industry is evolving from needing around 1,600 racks to generate 10MW output, to high-density GPU racks that can now deliver the same output using only 10 racks.
The reference to hscale MAGNUS was a fascinating listen, which will enable a future-ready campus - a faster and more efficient option to gain permits before the end client's requirements are confirmed.
The Sustainability in Data Centre panel talked at length on how the industry is balancing the energy demand with AI growth, as well as considering the long-term sustainability agenda across digital infrastructure. Sustainability is often still regarded as a specialist function rather than an industry-wide responsibility.
The final panel of the event focused on hyperscale growth, infrastructure demands being driven by AI and cloud expansion, along with the strategic approaches organisations are taking to build scalable, resilient and sustainable digital ecosystems. Nuclear energy is increasingly viewed as the ideal power source for data centers due to its ability to provide uninterrupted, 24/7 baseload power but would the negtive perception be more acceptable for local communities if there was a significant reduction in energy bills as exists in France, mentioned by Richard Wilkinson from DXC.
Two days, one consistent message
The pace of change across data centre infrastructure is accelerating faster than the talent pipeline can currently support. Power constraints, density shifts and sustainability pressures are not abstract challenges; they are immediate, and they demand people who understand them. For anyone working in recruitment across this sector, that gap is both a responsibility and an opportunity.
Thank you to Data Centre Magazine, BizClik and to all the speakers and exhibitors who made it such a worthwhile two days.