News

AI summit warns of ‘skills cliff edge’

Industry leaders gathered during London Tech Week at the House of Lords this week for a high-level summit on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the jobs market and wider UK economy, with speakers warning of the "skills cliff edge." Chaired by Steven George-Hilley of Centropy PR, the debate saw experts from leading law firms, financial services, and tech startups discuss how AI is reshaping the workforce and the risks and talent pipeline required to maximise its economic benefits. Cyber expert Achi Lewis-Dhaliwal, AVP UK, EMEA & India, Absolute Security, says, “The financial services industry houses vast quantities of sensitive data that is constantly subject to threats from malicious cyber actors, especially with the rise of AI-powered attacks. These House of Lords discussions should be grounded in the understanding of cyber risks against the UK’s most important industries, and the cyber resilience postures that can ensure they remain operational.” Leigh Allen, Strategic Advisor, Cellebrite, comments, “AI is a critical enabler in unlocking digital evidence and significantly reducing investigation times, greatly aiding police forces and combating national security threats. At Cellebrite, we combine ethical access to digital evidence alongside artificial intelligence to equip agencies to respond and counteract digital threats to make our society a safer place.” James Tuttiett, Sales Director UK & EMEA at FDM Group, adds, “There’s a lack of a united vision and strategy across all industries when it comes to AI. We’re seeing that most organisations are still in the experimental phase, testing the ways that AI can influence and improve their business functions while driving greater efficiency. Whilst there is not a one size fits all approach being adapted, what is clear is that the integration of AI is immanent and creating an AI-literate workforce for the future is vital. “As we look to the impact that AI will have on future jobs, more emphasis needs to be placed on our understanding of the questions we ask of AI and not just the answers it gives. Embracing AI, and understanding how prompt engineering can improve all of our careers, is essential.” Tech expert Arkadiy Ukolov, Founder of Ulla Technology, argues, “Privacy and data security must remain a critical focus as AI adoption continues to skyrocket, especially as [the] most popular AI tools send data to third-party AI providers which often use client data to train models. When it comes to sensitive meeting discussions, for example, it creates a significant risk of data leaks, so placing ethics at the centre of House of Lords discussions is vital as AI develops.” Stuart Harvey, CEO of Datactics, notes, “In the rush to adopt AI tools, we must first recognise the importance of data quality and readiness to underpin high-performing AI. Many organisations still operate in fragmented data environments, risking inaccurate model outputs and unreliable responses. Without data readiness, AI cannot be successful.” Chris Davison, CEO of NavLive, concludes, “AI is at the forefront of the UK’s growth, [including] transformative applications such as 2D and 3D building modelling in real-time to help expedite developments and facilitate sustainable building practices. By creating accurate real-time spatial data across the lifecycle of a building, architects, engineers, and construction professionals can save significant time and money.”

ABB and Applied Digital announce partnership

Applied Digital, a builder and operator of data centres, has launched an infrastructure partnership with ABB, a multinational corporation specialising in industrial automation and electrification products, at the company’s greenfield 400 MW campus in North Dakota, United States. The collaboration aims to innovate energy-efficient solutions to meet the needs of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. As part of this long-term partnership, the first orders were booked in Q4 2024 and Q1 2025. Further financial details of the partnership were not disclosed. Central to the partnership is a new medium voltage power architecture using ABB’s HiPerGuard Medium Voltage Static Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). The HiPerGuard technology seeks to help AI data centres increase power density while compressing electrical plant footprints and increasing energy efficiency. The partnership covers the complete design and development of the site’s electrical infrastructure. Conventional data centres use low voltage power distribution and UPS systems. Switching to medium voltage for the UPS system and power distribution should enable data centres to scale more efficiently, expanding in 25 MW blocks. With fewer parts and cabling, installation should be simpler and reliability higher. "What we are building with ABB is going to completely change the way our industry designs large-scale data centres. By leveraging ABB's cutting-edge technology and global reach, we are able to redefine the electrical infrastructure landscape and meet the growing demands to support large-scale AI Factories,” claims Todd Gale, Chief Development Officer, Applied Digital. Massimiliano Cifalitti, Smart Power President, ABB Electrification, comments, "Partnerships like this are accelerating the timeline for AI-ready data centres with more competitive, resilient power infrastructures. ABB’s technology is designed for peak performance with dedicated capacity across our global production network and industry-leading innovation. ABB teams are ready to deliver at scale and at speed.” For more from ABB, click here.

Ciena publishes report on wave services demand

Ciena, an American networking systems and software company specialising in optical networking equipment, has compiled a new report on wavelength services that explores the key drivers of the need for high-speed connectivity. The report examines the critical role of wave services in enabling the expansion of interconnected data centres driven by artificial intelligence (AI), the growing importance of low latency and data sovereignty for AI workloads, and the build-out of terrestrial and critical submarine network infrastructure. It also highlights the pivotal role of managed optical fibre network (MOFN) business models to expand high-speed connectivity into new geographies and markets. “As cloud providers scale data centre networks to address AI performance requirements, wave services must also evolve in terms of capacity, coverage, latency, and route diversity,” says Mark Bieberich, Vice President of Portfolio Marketing, Ciena. “Demand for wave services is growing steadily worldwide as data centre network expansion requires increasingly high-capacity interconnection among various types of network operators and end users.” The total wave services circuits market in the US grew nearly 8% in 2024 and is projected to grow steadily through 2029, based on research from Vertical Systems Group. It observed an increasing use of wave services for cloud on-ramps, which is demonstrated by the metro geographical scope (41%) along with the dominance of retail customers (58%). The report states that, from 2024 to 2029, growth in 400G circuits is set to soar, while 100G circuits will see a steady rise and 10G circuits will experience modest growth. Wave services are the foundation of most high-capacity networks, particularly when connectivity to or between data centres is involved. High bandwidth, protocol transparency, and low latency are some of their fundamental characteristics. Wave services can either act as end services or support higher-layer services. Based on Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology, they enable massive data-transmission bandwidth over a fibre pair. Currently, wave services are dominated by 100G and 400G connections. There is still a high volume of 10G services deployed, but they are being upgraded to 100G at a steady pace. Ciena’s report also looks at the growth of submarine cables. It highlights that a record 161,100km of submarine cables are planned to become ready for service (RFS) in 2025, dwarfing the previous high of 121,000km becoming RFS back in 2001. “With infrastructure expanding rapidly and resource constraints increasingly shaping growth, anticipating demand has never been more important,” continues Mark. “Network operators providing wave services can seize this moment by proactively routing new submarine cables to emerging data centres and innovating to address these challenges. Differentiation through greater route diversity, low-latency connectivity, and compelling managed services is key to staying ahead.” The report provides an analysis of the current industry landscape, evaluating key trends and identifying factors poised to influence the market in the coming years.

Black & White Engineering appoints country lead

Black & White Engineering, a data centre design consultancy, has appointed a new country lead to head up its growing Frankfurt operation and accelerate expansion in the German market. Timm Weis joins as Country Manager following more than a decade in MEP design for mission-critical infrastructure, bringing experience of delivering data centre projects across Germany for global clients. The Frankfurt base, which opened in late 2023, is expected to add between 30 and 50 engineers over the next three years. The office has already secured a position in the German market, supporting hyperscale and large-campus developments ranging from 30MW to 800MW of IT capacity. The team acts as a lead designer on projects, overseeing the full design process and coordination with local authorities. Timm comments, “Germany’s data centre market is developing rapidly and our role is to help clients stay ahead, whether that’s navigating local planning processes, improving energy performance, or delivering complex builds at scale. We’re building a team in Frankfurt with the technical expertise and local understanding needed to support that growth with precision and purpose. “My immediate focus is on attracting the right talent and ensuring Black & White continues to meet the high standards expected by clients in this market. We’ve already established strong foundations here and the potential for further growth, especially in taking on lead design roles and supporting the retrofit of legacy data centres, is huge.” The Frankfurt office’s remit also includes optimising legacy data centres to meet energy efficiency targets set out in Germany’s 2023 Energy Efficiency Act. With a high concentration of older sites in Frankfurt, this represents a significant area for retrofit and redesign work. Steven Horn, UK and Europe Director at Black & White Engineering, says, “Timm’s appointment marks the next step in scaling our operations and delivering the best of Black & White to clients in one of Europe’s most dynamic data centre markets. “Frankfurt sits at the heart of Germany’s digital infrastructure ecosystem and our growth here reflects both demand from clients and our strategy to be where the projects are, with the right people on the ground.” Black & White Engineering has a team of over 800 employees across the UK, EU, Asia, and the UAE, with 93% of the business dedicated to data centre design. For more from Black & White, click here.

Schneider Electric launches new data centre solutions

Schneider Electric, a player in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, today announced new data centre solutions designed with the aim of meeting the demands of next-generation AI cluster architectures. Adding to its EcoStruxure Data Center Solutions portfolio, the company has introduced a Prefabricated Modular EcoStruxure Pod Data Center solution that consolidates infrastructure for liquid cooling, high-power busway, and high-density NetShelter Racks. In addition, the EcoStruxure Rack Solutions incorporate rack configurations and frameworks designed to accelerate High Performance Computing (HPC) and AI data centre deployments. “The sheer power and density required for AI clusters create bottlenecks that demand a new approach to data centre architecture,” says Himamshu Prasad, Senior Vice President of EcoStruxure IT, Transactional & Edge, and Energy Storage Center of Excellence at Schneider Electric. “Customers need integrated infrastructure solutions that not only handle extreme thermal loads and dynamic power profiles but also deploy rapidly, scale predictably, and operate efficiently and sustainably. Our innovative next-generation EcoStruxure solutions that support NVIDIA technology address these critical requirements head on.” Here is an overview of the new products:● Prefabricated Modular EcoStruxure Pod Data Center - Prefabricated, scalable pod architecture that seeks to enable operators to deploy high-density racks, supporting pods up to 1MW, at scale. ● EcoStruxure Rack Solutions - High-density rack systems which adapt to EIA, ORV3, and NVIDIA MGX modular design standards approved by certain IT chip and server manufacturers. According to the company, configurations accommodate an array of power and cooling distribution schemes and employ Motivair in-rack liquid cooling, as well as new rack and power distribution products including: o NetShelter SX Advanced Enclosureo NetShelter Rack PDU Advancedo NetShelter Open Architecture “Schneider Electric’s innovative solutions provide the reliable, scalable infrastructure our customers need to accelerate their AI initiatives,” claims Vladimir Troy, Vice President of Data Center Engineering, Operations, Enterprise Software, and Cloud Services at NVIDIA. “Together, we’re addressing the rapidly growing demands of AI factories — from kilowatt to megawatt-scale racks — and delivering future-proof solutions that maximise scalability, density, and efficiency.” For more from Schneider Electric, click here.

Connectors for data centres can improve energy efficiency

Energy costs can account for more than 50% of the total operating expenses of a data centre. To calculate the exact effect of power usage from connectors in data centres, HARTING has compared the power consumption of three different connector solutions in its independently accredited test laboratory. One of the connectors tested was the HARTING Han-Eco. The other two were CEE (IEC 60309) plugs from different manufacturers. The results showed that the Han-Eco connector reduced power wastage by up to 50% by using low-impedance contacts. These contacts reduce the power lost in connections and significantly improve the Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) of data centres. As a result, one hyperscale data centre with 15,000 racks could achieve annual power consumption savings of around £100,000. Download your free whitepaper now to learn how HARTING connectors can improve your power usage efficiency (PUE) and reduce the lifetime costs of operating a data centre. For more from HARTING, click here.

ZTE unveils AI data centre technologies

ZTE Corporation, a Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems company, has debuted its latest AI-driven data centre technologies at Data Centre World Frankfurt 2025. At the heart of ZTE's exhibition was its vision for the "Elastic & Efficient AI Data Center." The display featured an integrated ecosystem of liquid-cooled cabinets, computing micro-modules, and containerised technology. With these, ZTE is hoping to be able to reduce data centre construction time by over 40%. The company also presented its upgraded power supply architecture. The power distribution system supports room-level and rack-level elastic power supply, seeking to cut down the physical footprint by 40% and achieve system efficiency levels as high as 98% in ECO mode. In tandem, its liquid cooling technologies have been designed to try to help bring down PUE to as low as 1.1. ZTE's AI-powered energy management system aims to leverage system-wide sensing, autonomous learning, and efficiency modelling to deliver real-time optimisation strategies. The company operates in more than 20 countries and has an end-to-end delivery model covering consulting, planning, design, construction, and ongoing maintenance. It uses digital tools like BIM for smart design, a global procurement network, and a team of over 200 certified professionals. Its AI-powered O&M platform, iDCIM, intends to enable predictive maintenance, helping - according to the company - reduce operational costs by up to 50%. ZTE's Intelligent Computing Infrastructure segment at DCW introduced the latest R5200 G6, R5300 G6, and R6500 G6 servers, alongside the presentation of AiCube, an AI computing solution tailored for edge scenarios. Sustainability took a prominent role at this year's exhibition. In its "Smart PV & ESS for a Green Future" section, ZTE presented its strategy for integrating renewable energy into data centre design. Through photovoltaic and energy storage systems, the company seeks to enable energy savings across the data centre life cycle - such as in Turkey, where ZTE deployed solar energy technology. "Our end-to-end solutions reflect a strategic focus on intelligence, sustainability, and global scalability," says Kan Jie, GM of Data Center Product at ZTE. "At Data Centre World Frankfurt 2025, we're showcasing how ZTE's innovations are helping enterprises accelerate their journey towards digital and green transformation." For more from ZTE, click here.

Asanti partners with Storm ID

Asanti Data Centres, a UK data centre provider, has today announced a strategic partnership with Storm ID, a digital transformation consultancy, to deliver cloud-aligned colocation hosting services for public sector organisations. This partnership combines Storm ID’s experience in public cloud technologies, service design, and AI-powered platforms with Asanti’s UK-wide network of edge data centres. Together, they aim to empower public sector bodies to modernise legacy systems, enhance digital services, and ensure compliance with UK data sovereignty requirements. “As our colocation partner, Asanti’s UK-wide infrastructure enhances our ability to deliver secure, resilient, hybrid hosting solutions to our clients,” says Mike Cashin, Director at Storm ID. “By combining our public cloud expertise with Asanti’s data centre expertise, we can provide public sector organisations with seamless access to modern, cloud-aligned, hybrid hosting solutions.” Storm ID previously helped with digital service delivery for the Scottish Government, NHS Scotland, and other public institutions, whilst Asanti’s Livingston data centre is Scotland’s only dual-power-fed data centre. “This partnership with Storm ID is a strong alignment of values and vision,” comments Stewart Laing, CEO of Asanti Data Centres. “Storm ID’s track record in delivering transformative digital services for the public sector speaks for itself. Coupled with our scalable, resilient infrastructure, we’re excited to help enable a new era of secure, hybrid hosting solutions for public organisations across the UK.” The collaboration will focus on enabling digital transformation within regulated and critical sectors, with an emphasis on hybrid hosting architectures that blend local colocation with public cloud scalability.

Vantage completes euro-based data centre ABS

Vantage Data Centers, a provider of hyperscale data centre campuses, has announced it has raised €640 million in securitised term notes, marking the first-ever euro-based securitisation of data centre assets in Continental Europe. The transaction includes an additional €80 million in unfunded Variable Funding Notes. The Class A-2 Notes are rated A- and the Class B Notes are rated BBB- by Standard & Poor’s and Scope Ratings. This transaction follows Vantage’s undertaking last year with the first-ever EMEA data centre ABS (Asset-Backed Securitisation) completed in British pound sterling. The notes will be used to refinance four data centres in Germany - two in Offenbach (Frankfurt) and two in Berlin - all of which are leased to hyperscale customers. The refinancing is part of Vantage’s wider efforts to expand its presence in the EMEA region and accelerate time-to-market to meet mounting demand for AI and cloud capacity. Surplus funds will be allocated towards capital expenditures and broader corporate initiatives. The notes have an anticipated five-year repayment date. “The issuance of the first euro-denominated ABS in the data centre sector marks a significant milestone in digital infrastructure financing. Having previously issued the first data centre ABS in both North America and EMEA (sterling-denominated), Vantage continues to showcase our innovative approach to capital markets and our ability to unlock new funding vehicles to fuel our global expansion,” says Rich Cosgray, Senior Vice President, Global Capital Markets for Vantage Data Centers. Vantage was represented by Clifford Chance, and the transaction was led by Barclays and Deutsche Bank as active Joint Lead Managers. It was supported by ING and Natixis as Joint Lead Managers and ABN Amro, Banco De Sabadell, SMBC, and Societe Generale as Co-Managers. Barclays acted as Sole Structuring Advisor and Sole Green Structuring Advisor, and the transaction achieved a Green Bond designation via a Second-Party Opinion (SPO) from Morningstar Sustainalytics. The funds raised will contribute to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and aim to facilitate the innovation of next-generation sustainable solutions aimed at reducing Vantage’s environmental impact. Over the last 12 months, Vantage has raised €2.2 billion in new debt financing for its EMEA platform. For more from Vantage, click here.

LINX board election results revealed

The London Internet Exchange (LINX), operating one of the world's largest internet exchange points, facilitating traffic exchange between internet service providers (ISPs) and content networks, has announced the results of its 2025 board election, held during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 2 June in London. This year, two board positions were up for election. Incumbent members Neil McRae and Pete Stevens stood for re-election, while Paul Dunbar (Akamai) and Nico Walters (CMC Networks) were nominated as new candidates. Following the election, Neil McRae and Pete Stevens were re-elected to serve a new three-year term on the LINX board. Neil McRae has been involved with LINX since its birth back in 1994 and has served as a LINX board member for many years. He comments, “For me, being part of LINX is not just professional—it’s deeply personal. I believe that connectivity is a powerful equaliser that opens doors to opportunity, and I speak from personal experience, having built my career through self-taught skills and a relentless drive to learn and contribute. LINX is a crucial platform in enabling its members to connect people.” Pete Stevens is an active member of the LINX community and is also grateful to be re-elected. He adds, “I’m thrilled with what has been achieved during my time on the LINX board. I’ve become Vice Chair of the board and the Chair of the Finance, Risk, and Audit subcommittee. During my tenure on the board, we’ve appointed a new CEO, CFO, and changed our auditors to RSM. We’ve opened multiple internet exchanges around the world and now have five exchanges regularly pushing over half a terabit of traffic—one of which is less than twelve months old. I have also served on the governance committee which has now completed revising all the founding documents of LINX. This is a necessary development to place LINX on a firm legal footing for the future whilst still protecting member interests.” The LINX board plays a crucial role in guiding the strategic direction and governance of the organisation, aiming to ensure it meets the evolving needs of its membership and the broader internet community. Jennifer Holmes, CEO of LINX, says, “We’d like to thank all the candidates for standing for election. The voting this year was quite competitive, which reflects the strong interest in LINX as a membership-run organisation within the membership. I'd like to thank Neil and Pete for their dedication to the role so far and congratulate them on their re-election. LINX holds board elections every year so I look forward to welcoming more candidates into the process next year." For more from LINX, click here.