Artificial Intelligence in Data Centre Operations

The critical role of cloud strategy in driving business innovation

HCLTech has launched a new report providing compelling insights into how organisations can overcome key obstacles like security concerns, talent gaps and company culture to maximise the business impact of their cloud investments. Titled 'Cloud Evolution: Make Innovation a Habit', the report is based on a survey of 500 senior business and technology leaders across industries. The report revealed that while 73% of executives believe their companies are only beginning to leverage the potential of cloud, over 90% recognise cloud’s vital role in enabling rapid response to critical business events, strategic pivots and adopting leading-edge technologies like AI. Cloud continues to enable businesses to pivot when faced with new and unforeseen challenges. As high as 87% of the respondents in the survey said that they would not have been able to make significant pivots last year without cloud. Businesses are relying on cloud to meet sustainability goals (91%), to work through pandemic-related staffing and supply chain issues (87%) and mitigate the impact of rising inflation (77%), showed the survey. “Cloud is rapidly becoming the optimal business platform for innovation at scale,” says Kalyan Kumar, Global Chief Technology Officer and Head – Ecosystems, HCLTech. “However, many companies have yet to fully tap into its potential. This report offers a blueprint for developing the right cloud strategy to drive competitive advantage.” The respondents agreed that innovative technologies like Gen AI and cloud go hand-in-hand. Of the respondents, 58% noted that businesses have increased or are planning to increase investments in Gen AI and 85% believe it is only possible with the right cloud strategy. Both IT leaders (86%) and business leaders (81%) agree that they closely collaborate with one another to discuss cloud strategy to unlock their potential to innovate. However, 73% of the survey participants said that their business is only just beginning to unlock the potential of cloud. Nearly a third of the senior executives (32%) said that a lack of alignment and collaboration between business and technology departments is an obstacle to achieving their business goals. “Forward-thinking leaders recognise that cloud is no longer just an infrastructure play but rather a transformational business platform,” says Siki Giunta, Executive Vice President, CloudSMART and Industry Consulting, HCLTech. “By following the recommendations in this report, organisations can truly unleash cloud’s potential to accelerate growth and resilience.” To make innovation through cloud a norm, the report advises companies to leverage cloud’s agility, shape their organisation’s culture around cloud, break down departmental barriers, increase cloud literacy and tightly align cloud strategy with AI and other emerging technology adoption plans. HCLTech’s CloudSMART strategy ensures meaningful business outcomes from clients’ cloud investments. Industry expertise across all segments forms the HCLTech cloud offering and highly automated services increase agile implementation of modern cloud best practices. Readers can view the full research report here: https://www.hcltech.com/cloud-research.

atNorth announces shortlist selection for the Energy Awards

atNorth has announced that its Sweden data centre is on the shortlist for the ‘Physical Technology of the Year – Heating and Cooling’ category at the 2023 Energy Awards. atNorth’s SWE01 data centre launched in 2022 and is specifically designed for high-density workloads, such as advanced calculations for AI, simulations, and risk analysis. It is one of the world’s first +10MW data centres with a primary cooling system designed for heat recovery. This enables 85% of the electricity used in the DC to be captured and passed on as heat to the district heating system. This residual heat can heat up to 20,000 homes.  The entry showcased the company's strategic alliance with CoolIT. Its bespoke cooling system further enhanced the existing infrastructure cooling process for its high-density servers, significantly improving overall data centre efficiency.atNorth now operates six Nordic data centres, following the launch of its third site in Iceland, ICE03, and with a seventh site due to open in Finland in 2024. The business is committed to building best in class data centres to meet the continued demand for energy efficient, data-intensive computing.  “We are delighted that our innovative data centre design has been shortlisted by the Energy Award judges,” says Steve Donovan, Chief Development Officer, atNorth. “As the environmental and economic advantages of our services continue to gain traction in the industry, we are thrilled to be recognised for the quality of our offering.”The Energy Awards aim to celebrate the energy industry’s innovations and achievements in best practice, business excellence and industry collaboration.

Omdia: The data centre market is healthy and ready for AI demand

The recent explosion of high-profile AI successes and investment announcements has captured the attention and imagination of the business world. In light of the latest AI media frenzy, new research from Omdia reveals that the data centre market has a heightened awareness of practical applications for AI that promise to improve productivity and lower costs. The collective evidence so far says this will not just be another flash in the pan. Colocation businesses, including both multi-tenant and single tenant data centre providers, are expected to be riding this wave of new AI growth. Some of these companies have adapted their data centre designs to enable higher rack power density. The power consumption of servers configured for AI training is akin to high-performance computing (HPC) clusters for scientific research. “The colocation providers able to provide the highest rack densities and access to liquid cooling will now have the upper hand in the market for data centre space,” says, Alan Howard, Principal Analyst at Omdia. Research from Omdia projects continued strong growth in the colocation market and it’s likely the proliferation of AI hardware will be an added tailwind to growth. The colocation industry is quite healthy and is expected to reach $65.2bn in 2027, with a five year growth CAGR of 9.4%, according to Omdia’s Colocation Services Tracker - 2023. Depending on how the acceleration in AI hardware deployments materialises, colocation data centre revenue could get a significant boost over the next few years. The top three colocation service providers in the world are Equinix, Digital Realty, and NTT Global Data Centres (NTT GDC). Between them, they operate over 700 data centres and have over 100 construction projects underway as covered in Omdia’s Data Centre Building Tracker – 1H23. These three companies represent 33% of the total 2022 revenue of $41.6bn, according to Omdia’s Colocation Services Tracker - 2023. Not all data centres can handle AI or HPC equipment, but these companies and numerous other noteworthy colocation service providers have been anticipating this emerging growth trend. Data centres built over the last couple years and many of those under construction, have been designed and architected to accommodate these high-power density equipment racks. These data centre design and architecture properties include high-density power distribution management and precision cooling for thermal management to protect servers. In some cases, colocation customers require direct to chip liquid cooling, which requires special data centre plumbing designs to provide customers access to a liquid cooling loop, or the option to install immersion cooling tanks where the hottest servers are sunken into a bath of non-conductive fluids. Alan concludes, “Achieving these advanced data centre operating characteristics are not for the faint of heart or those companies with an aversion to high capital expenditures (capex). Colocation companies like Equinix, Digital Realty, NTT GDC, Flexential, DataBank, Compass, Aligned, Iron Mountain, and a host of others are in the business of taking that capital risk to build data centres so that enterprises and cloud service providers don’t have to.”

Revealed: DTX + UCX 2023 full line-up

From decades in the making to overnight impact, nobody was prepared for how quickly generative AI landed. But businesses can be ready for the next chapter with the right skills, architecture and operational design. Enter DTX + UCX Europe 2023 to unite the UK's top IT and digital professionals and tech innovators on 4 - 5 October.  Across 18 content stages, the programme helps IT leaders and their teams build an essential roadmap to navigate the AI-dominated realm of opportunity and the risk landscape that comes with it.  Interactive panels, case studies and fireside chats will welcome leaders from major organisations like TikTok, M&S, Lloyds, DWP, Tesco, DreamWorks and Gousto, whilst headline speakers like Lastminute.com's Founder, Baroness Martha Lane Fox; comedian and TV presenter, Dara Ó Briain; renowned social engineer and 'people hacker', Jenny Radcliffe; and former distinguished engineer at Google Cloud, Kelsey Hightower, will also be taking to the stage.  Here’s a sneak peek of some of the sessions you can expect to see at the show: One of the opening panels encourages attendees to 'twist and shout', exploring how to change the digital narrative from cost-centre to value-creator with brands including ITV, Meta, PWC and The British Army featured. Another stand-out session titled, 'Reality Check', brings together the Ministry of Justice, CDIO, Gina Gill, with Jon Townsend, CIO of the National Trust, to discuss the steps organisations should take today to prepare for a more intelligent and immersive tomorrow. Followed up by UCL professor, Hannah Fry, who will take audiences on a tour of technology to analyse what advancements lie around the corner.  Elsewhere, Natwest’s Head of Engineering for Commercial and Institutional Banking, Angela De Wet Johnson, will present on how to modernise IT to meet evolving customer expectations and tech advancements, whilst Astrazeneca’s Global Head of Enterprise Architecture, Dinesh Krishnan, and Deputy Director at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, NHS Trust, Jeffrey Wood, will discuss best practice in sourcing, integrating and driving value from technology platforms and partnerships. More real-life case studies will take place across the breakout stages, including E.ON’s tips and tricks for operationalising IT in the cloud; Deep Green’s deep dive into how data centres are saving UK swimming pools; Norwegian Customs’ exploration of ethics in social engineering; and a cinematic presentation from Pen Test Partners proving why movies get plane hacking all wrong.  Further sessions will showcase long-term customer retention strategies and the role of technology from L’Oreal and Experian’s heads of customer experience; Great Ormond Street Hospital's DRIVE technical lead sharing a case study on innovation in clinical informatics; and a debate on monoliths vs microservices in the quest for cost-optimised architecture featuring AWS and former GCP engineer. If that's not enough to justify the time out of the day job, DTX + UCX has also announced a partnership with Every Child Online for 2023, a charity that supports children and disadvantaged young people by professionally refurbishing old laptops/PCs and supplying them to schools in deprived areas and charitable organisations for free.  The full line-up and event agenda is now live on the websites DTX Europe and UC EXPO. Save the dates of 4 - 5 October and register online here. 

NordVPN to boost innovation in experimental technologies

NordVPN has announced the launch of NordLabs – a platform for experimental projects and cutting-edge innovations. It will explore emerging technologies, such as AI, to create new tools and services. "New emerging technologies raise challenges for cybersecurity, privacy, and internet freedom, but at the same time, they bring new opportunities. NordLabs will allow us to have additional flexibility when it comes to the development of experimental tools and services. We do not expect all projects appearing in NordLabs will later become fully maintained standalone products, but we are thrilled about the opportunity to curb cutting-edge technologies for better internet," says Vykintas Maknickas, Head of Product Strategy at Nord Security. NordLabs will work in two main directions. First, it will provide a broader space for NordVPN's team of engineers and developers to experiment with new ideas and emerging technologies and encourage creative thinking to explore novel approaches to online privacy and security. Secondly, the platform will allow early adopters and tech enthusiasts to gain exclusive access to innovative projects before they become mainstream. To access upcoming experimental projects, users must register on the waiting list. Once new experimental projects are released, registered users can test and provide feedback on features and services developed by NordVPN. The first experimental NordLabs products are planned to be released in September. They will include a machine learning-based tool that will help internet users better identify phishing emails, and a tool to distinguish AI-generated images from those created through traditional means.

Speakers from the Vatican and NASA to headline at Data Summit

Speakers from the Vatican and NASA are amongst a line-up confirmed for The Data Lab’s flagship event, Data Summit 2023. Data Summit is part of Scotland’s data and AI event, DataFest, a festival of innovation dedicated to showcasing the world’s foremost voices in data and AI. The 2023 event has been titled, 'The AI Renaissance: how is it shaping the human experience?­', and in a time where artificial intelligence is at the forefront of public discourse, it will explore how the technology is impacting all areas of our lives – from culture to net zero, privacy to disinformation, and religion to space travel. Taking place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) on 2 and 3 November, Data Summit is set to bring together some of the leading data scientists, thought leaders, journalists and artists from across industry, public sector, and academia to share their advanced knowledge on the new age of data and AI innovation. Among a distinguished list of delegates, it will welcome Paolo Benanti, AI Advisor to the Vatican, and Katherine Rahill, Senior Scientist of NASA’s Human Research Division at Johnson Space Centre, to headline keynotes at the two-day conference. Other confirmed speakers for the event include: CEO and Co-Founder of Code First Girls, Anna Brailsford, who will be taking part in a fireside chat with Chief Commercial Officer of Strathclyde University, Gillian Docherty. Astrodynamicist and Space Environmentalist, Moriba Jah, who, alongside his work laying the foundation for a safe, prosperous and sustainable near-Earth space environment, is also a MacArthur Fellow, National Geographic Explorer, TED Fellow, Global Space Evangelist, Professor and Spacecraft Navigator. Colin Jarvis, applied AI solutions architect for EMEA at leading AI company, OpenAI will keynote. Professor in the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies at the University of Tokyo, Yuko Itatsu, who also serves as a Director for the B’AI Global Forum. Associate Professor in Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI and author of the highly acclaimed economist book, ‘Privacy is Power’, Carissa Véliz. Tim Gregory, Nuclear Chemist for the National Nuclear Laboratory, who is also a public speaker, freelance writer, educator and science advocate. Broadcaster and genomics expert, Vivienne Parry, who hosts medical programmes for BBC Radio 4, writes widely on health, and presents films. She is also known to facilitate high-level conferences and train young researchers. Journalist and disinformation researcher, Olga Tokariuk, who has written for international media titles. DataFest will host a series of fringe events running from 24 October - 9 November, allowing industry and academic professionals to learn, network and explore some of the latest advancements in this technology. The events will take place across the UK and around the world, online and in-person, and will feature some of the world’s leading technology organisations including Meta and SENSE (Centre for Satellite Data and Environmental Science). Gordon Johnstone, Head of DataFest at The Data Lab, says, “Innovations in data and AI are moving at an unprecedented pace and the world is undergoing a complete technological rebirth. This year’s Data Summit agenda will explore what lies ahead for data and AI through various lenses to reveal the challenges and opportunities afforded by these exciting developments. By creating a programme that highlights all the ways these ground-breaking technologies can impact our lives, we hope to demonstrate how they can change humanity for the better.” “We pride ourselves on the unparalleled experience Data Summit has to offer, as it allows attendees to not only network with a variety of thought leaders in the field but will allow the chance to build communities with other like-minded professionals. With this year’s list of high-calibre speakers, the event is set to be the biggest, boldest Data Summit of its time as we welcome the Vatican, NASA, OpenAI, nuclear chemists, genomics experts, professors, astrodynamicists, journalists and broadcasters to inspire and drive positive change in our audience.” Tickets for the event are available on the DataFest website.

Macquarie Data Centres supersizes data centre for hyperscalers

Macquarie Data Centres, part of Macquarie Technology Group, has announced a major expansion to its next data centre, IC3 Super West. This expansion gives IC3 Super West the potential to increase its IT load to 45MW, a 41% increase from its original plans. The expansion reflects the company's ambitious expansion plans to meet rapidly rising demand for power and data-hungry AI workloads in Australia, while creating the ideal home for hyperscale cloud customers. Macquarie Data Centres' Group Executive, David Hirst, says, “According to CSIRO, the Australian economy could gain A$315bn by 2028 through the integration of AI. However, unlocking the full potential of AI hinges on the availability of advanced AI-ready data centres. To ensure optimal performance in training and inference of these AI models, we are designing our upcoming data centres to meet and surpass the demanding requirements for higher densities.” IC3 Super West will be able to efficiently support the high densities and multi-MW power requirements of new AI chip and server infrastructure. The data centre will also have the cooling requirements to match, by optimising the latest in both air and liquid cooling technologies. This new data centre will be the third edition to the provider’s Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus in Sydney’s premier North Zone. The increase in planned capacity will mean the total campus IT load could reach 63MW. The company's ambitious growth plans were bolstered by a A$160 million capital raise in June 2023. It announced that the capital raise would be put towards its future-focused expansion strategy, which involves acquiring sites in Sydney to accelerate growth and support the AI megatrend.  Macquarie has voiced its support for AI innovation in Australia and is committed to strengthening its sovereign data centre and cloud services operations to facilitate this.

Nasuni's appointment to drive its data intelligence and AI strategies

Nasuni has announced the promotion of its Vice President of Product, Jim Liddle, to the role of Chief Innovation Officer. This new focus area will lead the development and implementation of the company’s data intelligence and AI strategies. The appointment recognises Jim’s contributions over the last 12 months in evolving the Nasuni File Data Platform by providing data intelligence for customers, ranging from search to intelligent ransomware detection. Jim brings expert knowledge and a track record of success in driving product innovation to his new role, where he will work closely with Nasuni’s cross-functional teams to harness the company’s technical expertise and culture of innovation. Prior to joining Nasuni, he was Founder and CEO at Storage Made Easy (SME). Nasuni acquired the company in 2022 to strategically leverage its technology to build upon and develop new data management offerings that prioritise the full lifecycle of file data from creation and storage, to classification, search and interrogation. “I’m excited for the opportunity that this role presents in helping Nasuni deliver on its commitment to further enhance its dynamic data management capabilities with emerging technologies,” states Jim Liddle, Chief Innovation Officer at Nasuni. “By empowering businesses to leverage the full potential of multiple and often disparate unstructured data sets, they are able to deliver more informed decision-making.” Paul Flanagan, CEO at Nasuni, explains, “Data intelligence solutions are missing the largest dataset – unstructured data, because it is spread across silos of Network Attached Storage (NAS) infrastructure. Nasuni enables customers to consolidate these silos into an object store, providing the foundation to support the seamless integration of data intelligence and AI. Our acquisition of Jim’s former company, Storage Made Easy, reflected our determination to act quickly on this insight. Jim is the perfect person to help us fulfil our vision.” Click here for more latest news.

The Data Lab launches AI-driven tool to navigate funding opportunities 

The Data Lab has launched a new free tool which uses AI to provide smart funding matches and help businesses navigate the UK’s complex funding landscape. Funding Finder allows businesses to quickly determine what financial backing is available to them in Scotland and across the UK, matching them with the most appropriate funding bodies to best support their work. The user-focused tool is designed to provide value quickly by guiding users through a simple three-staged online form. The information provided helps to create a personalised recommendation based on the available funding for which they are most likely to be eligible. The Funding Finder’s embedded AI element delivers the most relevant search results to boost application success and minimise the time spent on inappropriate bids. The launch of the tool follows a successful two-month pilot, tested exclusively with members of The Data Lab's community. The pilot received positive feedback, with a number of those who trialled the tool, identifying new funding opportunities as a result. It is now available to businesses across the UK, with further scope to extend overseas. Users of the tool will also benefit from tailored support, event news, weekly updates from the innovation centre and access to useful networks and connections, including the European Space Agency, UKRI, Innovate UK, and Find Business Support Scotland. Adam Turner, Head of External Funding Services at The Data Lab, says, “It’s impossible to ignore the crucial role grant funding plays for all stages of a business, but particularly during the start-up and scaleup phases. Scotland has always produced high quality, innovative organisations and this is something we want to nurture with the deployment of this tool. “While the funding landscape is positive, the application process has never been straightforward. As well as being time-consuming, it’s often complex and, with no single central funding body, every application can be different. We regularly received feedback from our community that a lot of time was wasted applying for funding that simply wasn’t suitable or that particular organisations were unlikely to win. Our aim with Funding Finder is to overcome some of these common pitfalls by providing a one-stop-shop for funding, to make it more accessible for businesses.” Click here for more on The Data Lab.

Legendary British astronaut to address AI in space exploration 

Big Data London, organised by Reed Exhibitions (RX), has unveiled its keynote lineup with renowned astronaut, Major Tim Peake, CMG, and the first British European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut to visit the International Space Station, set to headline the event. The exhibition and conference will run on 20 and 21 September 2023 at Olympia, London. Previously an Army Air Corp officer and test pilot, Tim Peake’s work on the ISS and active engagement with the public has made him a role model to millions. He will explain how technology such as AI has made missions to the international space station possible. His closing keynote session will take place at 4:40pm on 21 September in the Y-Axis keynote theatre.  The Big Data LDN keynotes are the centrepiece of the content programme and for 2023, it will be running two keynote theatres in parallel at opposing ends of the hall (x-axis and y-axis). Both theatres will be packed with leading subject matter experts presenting the latest intelligence and opinion on the industry’s hottest topics. The organisation connects data visionaries and real-world pioneers to deliver cutting-edge practical advice to delegates and in addition to Tim Peake, the keynote track will also feature speakers including:  Libby Liu, CEO at Whistleblower Aid, will present on the Y-Axis stage on 20 September from 15:20 - 15:50, to discuss ethics at the cutting-edge of innovation, and shed light on the importance of data privacy and ethics in the digital age. Libby has represented some of the most impactful big tech whistleblowers of the last several years, including Meta's Frances Haugen and Twitter's former Security Lead, Peiter 'Mudge' Zatko. She will speak to what big tech whistleblowers have in common, the ethical dilemmas they face long before their stories shake the foundations of companies and industries, what they grapple with, what motivates them and how they can blow the whistle safely and legally.  Ela Osterberger from Wetransfer, will present at 14:40 - 15:10, in the Data Strategy Theatre on 21 September to discuss ‘Data Strategy 101: The Essential Guide’ and why your company almost certainly needs one, how to assess what's required, what it should include and how to evolve it. The focus of this session will be a practical take home on the importance of how to implement a data strategy at scale that you can implement right away.   Gary Cronin, Director Digital Transformation, Data Engineering and Insights, Grant Thornton, will deep dive into technical data governance and unlocking the power of data assets on 21 September, 13:20 -13:50. Gary will discuss the world of data modelling, focusing on lineage, provenance, and auditability of data platforms to explore how businesses can build a robust data infrastructure that enables them to reverse data transactions and provide transparency for better decision-making and data-driven insights.    The event aims to join together industry leaders, data professionals, innovators, and enthusiasts to explore the limitless potential of data-driven technologies. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with representatives and consultants from over 180 exhibiting organisations to explore effective solutions to address their data challenges and develop a robust data-driven strategy for their businesses. The event will feature a lineup of participating organisations with renowned names such as ITV, Porsche, Google, Microsoft, Bank of England, The AA, EDF, OVO, Jaguar Land Rover, Expedia, Experian, M&C Saatchi, HelloFresh and Lloyds Banking Group.   Registration for the event is now open, and interested participants can secure their spots for free here.