The Datacloud Global Congress took place during the first week of June, handily nestled between BCO Milan and London Tech week where the government announced an £86 billion boost to science and tech, with the intention of propelling Britain to world-leading status for research and innovation. These are three events with very different content, yet are also intrinsically linked for progressive and high performance societies and organisations. This was the 20th anniversary of Datacloud Global Congress, the flagship event for the sector – “mipim for data centres” some say.
This year brought a record number of delegates, with over 4,500 in attendance to discuss critical industry topics pervasive influence of AI, the landscape of investment, the future of energy, ESG initiatives, talent development, and overarching sustainability.
Annabel Helm, Managing Director, Datacloud Global Congress stated, “Datacloud is known as the industry’s cornerstone event, where new strategies are defined, and deals get done. This year’s record attendance further reinforces its position as a critical and strategic touchpoint for digital infrastructure businesses.”
New frontiers
The sheer scale and global nature of data centre growth is unique; it is fast, urgent and full of opportunity, which in part will explain the increases in sector representation, including a 15 percent rise in professional services, a 62 percent surge in telco and carrier, and a 450 percent growth in attendees from the finance sector.
Critical Switchgear Maintenance Director, Mark Turner, joined Group Metropolitan to support the company’s rapidly expanding portfolio of data centre projects. “The demand for data centres is not just rising, it’s accelerating, driven by an increasingly digital world that depends on constant connectivity,” he said. Group Metropolitan is at the forefront of this evolving industry. As data centres scale up to meet growing global needs, the expectations around uptime, energy efficiency, and safety have never been higher. That’s exactly where our expertise in Critical Switchgear Maintenance comes in, ensuring that the systems powering us all remain secure, efficient, and resilient.”
What is particularly striking about this sector is that it is truly international, despite the need for power and cooling, data centres can actually exist anywhere where those provision exist, evidenced by the 65 countries that were represented at the event. This means competition for the attention of end users is high, and countries need to ensure they are appealing locations in terms of ease of planning, availability of power and this needs the support of government and local authorities for swift decisions in this fast-paced sector.
Defining data centres
This is a key reason the UK government switched the category of data centre to become part of critical infrastructure, as opposed to a property class. The other is trying to seize control over the many complications that the impending dominance and disruption that AI is predicted over existing organisation and traditional business models. However, despite the great intentions there is still much more to do, as Jonathan Stockdale, Director, studioNWA, specialist architects in data centres explains:
“There’s a lot of ambition in the UK when it comes to AI, but the infrastructure’s not keeping up. We’re stuck with slow planning, grid constraints, and a lack of clear national strategy. If we want to compete globally, we need to treat digital infrastructure like critical infrastructure – not as an afterthought. And the data centre industry needs to do more to tell its story. These buildings power everything from hospitals to home life, but most people have no idea they exist. Trust comes from visibility – we’ve got to be clearer, louder, and more honest about the role we play.”
For many year data centres have remained anonymous and physically low-key with a light air of mystery and suspicion around what actually happens in these technical boxes on the landscape. Yet, they are so vital to our lives, and this is only set to increase as the players in the data centre world need to stand up to be counted.
From creating buildings that sit in the context of their landscapes and feel less austere and more part of urban landscape, to owners and operators doing more to communicate the work around renewables, energy reuse and the benefits to the communities they are in but there is still a very long way to go.
Anna is the Founder and Director of Informare and a commentator on workplace and design issues
June 22, 2025
Data centres are the real powerhouses behind AI
by Anna King • AI, Comment
This year brought a record number of delegates, with over 4,500 in attendance to discuss critical industry topics pervasive influence of AI, the landscape of investment, the future of energy, ESG initiatives, talent development, and overarching sustainability.
Annabel Helm, Managing Director, Datacloud Global Congress stated, “Datacloud is known as the industry’s cornerstone event, where new strategies are defined, and deals get done. This year’s record attendance further reinforces its position as a critical and strategic touchpoint for digital infrastructure businesses.”
New frontiers
The sheer scale and global nature of data centre growth is unique; it is fast, urgent and full of opportunity, which in part will explain the increases in sector representation, including a 15 percent rise in professional services, a 62 percent surge in telco and carrier, and a 450 percent growth in attendees from the finance sector.
Critical Switchgear Maintenance Director, Mark Turner, joined Group Metropolitan to support the company’s rapidly expanding portfolio of data centre projects. “The demand for data centres is not just rising, it’s accelerating, driven by an increasingly digital world that depends on constant connectivity,” he said. Group Metropolitan is at the forefront of this evolving industry. As data centres scale up to meet growing global needs, the expectations around uptime, energy efficiency, and safety have never been higher. That’s exactly where our expertise in Critical Switchgear Maintenance comes in, ensuring that the systems powering us all remain secure, efficient, and resilient.”
What is particularly striking about this sector is that it is truly international, despite the need for power and cooling, data centres can actually exist anywhere where those provision exist, evidenced by the 65 countries that were represented at the event. This means competition for the attention of end users is high, and countries need to ensure they are appealing locations in terms of ease of planning, availability of power and this needs the support of government and local authorities for swift decisions in this fast-paced sector.
Defining data centres
This is a key reason the UK government switched the category of data centre to become part of critical infrastructure, as opposed to a property class. The other is trying to seize control over the many complications that the impending dominance and disruption that AI is predicted over existing organisation and traditional business models. However, despite the great intentions there is still much more to do, as Jonathan Stockdale, Director, studioNWA, specialist architects in data centres explains:
“There’s a lot of ambition in the UK when it comes to AI, but the infrastructure’s not keeping up. We’re stuck with slow planning, grid constraints, and a lack of clear national strategy. If we want to compete globally, we need to treat digital infrastructure like critical infrastructure – not as an afterthought. And the data centre industry needs to do more to tell its story. These buildings power everything from hospitals to home life, but most people have no idea they exist. Trust comes from visibility – we’ve got to be clearer, louder, and more honest about the role we play.”
For many year data centres have remained anonymous and physically low-key with a light air of mystery and suspicion around what actually happens in these technical boxes on the landscape. Yet, they are so vital to our lives, and this is only set to increase as the players in the data centre world need to stand up to be counted.
From creating buildings that sit in the context of their landscapes and feel less austere and more part of urban landscape, to owners and operators doing more to communicate the work around renewables, energy reuse and the benefits to the communities they are in but there is still a very long way to go.
Anna is the Founder and Director of Informare and a commentator on workplace and design issues