Upcoming Industry Events

Panel: Challenges and Opportunities in New and Developing Data Center Markets

Date: September 4, 2023, at 11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. CEST

Speaker: Ali Moinuddin, Managing Director Europe, Uptime Institute

A substantial move has taken place over the past year towards secondary and emerging markets, with hyperscale tenants and colocation providers evaluating and announcing new projects worldwide. Geographical diversity and speed to market are both evident in these developments against a background of rising real estate prices and competition for land. Cities outside the major markets are attracting investment from hyperscalers and wholesale developers. With land and power in tier 1 markets becoming expensive, not available or already having moratoriums in place, hyperscalers are concerned about proximity to end customers and relentlessly expanding across regions with specific interest in secondary and emerging markets.

This panel will explore where and how opportunities and challenges develop as new data center markets emerge.

Session: How and why data centers are becoming more regulated

Date: September 5, 2023, at 11:35 a.m. – 11:55 a.m. CEST

Speaker: Andy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute

Internet based services were once notoriously lightly regulated. But critical data center operators across the world are increasingly subject to regulations that span data use, resiliency, and sustainability. The increasing involvement of government in data center governance will have profound implications.

SESG Forum: What is the next solution to cooling data centers?

Date: September 5, 2023 at 3:50 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. CEST

Speaker: Andy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute

Power for data centers globally is estimated at between 10-15 GW. The requirements are expected to accelerate with the introduction of IoT, artificial intelligence (AI), HPC and GPUs and other digital transformation technologies. Much of the energy consumption for data centers is utilized by the cooling function. Air cooling technology has reached its limit. Colocation players need to implement high density cooling technologies in new facilities and legacy infrastructure to avoid their facilities becoming obsolete. There is urgency too for sustainability and to remove reliance on water in the cooling function.

• Is future cooling a problem to be solved solely by hardware manufacturers?
• How will changes to rack and containment products improve their efficiency?
• What is the next solution to cooling data centers?

Panel: Bridging the Gap: Upskilling and Reskilling for America's Data Center Industry

Date: September 11, 2023 at 4:20 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. CDT

Speaker: Mark Gusakov, Director of Client Resiliency, Uptime Institute

With millions of job openings and a shrinking pool of skilled workers, it is imperative to explore strategies to upskill and reskill individuals for the evolving landscape of data centers.

As a large number of data center staff are getting close to retirement age, and despite rising automation, it won't be possible to replace them anytime soon. Staffing challenges are also influenced by the state of the economy, labor market competition, and a lack of skilled workers in the data center industry. Therefore, it is vital to look at both upskilling and reskilling the workforce.

This panel will address:

• What organizations are doing to lower the barrier to entry.
• How to explore upskilling opportunities.
• Exploring strategies to attract underrepresented groups and foster career growth opportunities.

Panel: Micro Data Centers: How are we moving to the super edge?

Date: September 12, 2023, at 3:40 p.m. – 4:20 p.m. CDT

Speaker: Mark Gusakov, Director of Client Resiliency, Uptime Institute

As the global market for micro data centers continues to grow rapidly, with projections reaching billions of dollars by 2028, it is crucial to understand the implications and opportunities presented by this innovative architecture. Our panel of experts will explore the benefits, use cases, and challenges associated with micro data centers, shedding light on how they bring compute and storage resources closer to end-users.

In this panel we explore:

• The benefits offered by micro data centers, such as cost reduction, faster deployment times, increased resilience, and scalability.
• The diverse use cases of micro data centers across industries, including retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and telecommunications.
• Identify the challenges associated with deploying and managing micro data centers, including power and cooling considerations, security, connectivity, and remote management.

Session: Sustainability growing the Middle Eastern data center industry

Date: September 12, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. BST

Speaker: Naveed Saeed, Vice President, Global Services Management, Uptime Institute

Experts expect the Middle East to become a destination for the data center industry globally as demands for data continue to grow. However, along with this drive to increase market share, there will have to come the need to build and manage future data centers sustainably. As the Middle Eastern region has its own challenges around water availability and carbon intensive energy sources, how is sustainability being approached?

This session will explore the important areas for sustainable growth including land use, supply chain, energy and water as well as where the innovations are taking place. They will also look at how challenges are being addressed and could we see the Middle East become a driver for sustainable development going forward?

Panel: Data centre markets – where are the next regional hubs going to be?

Date: September 12, 2023 at 2:30 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. GMT+3

Speaker: Mustapha Louni, Senior Vice President, IMEA & SAPAC Regions, Uptime Institute

Africa has been attracting significant investments in recent years, led by South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, and Ethiopia. However, there is still a lot of scope for further developments, for example the current investments in secondary and tertiary markets such as Senegal, Ghana and Uganda. This panel will discuss:

• What are the considerations when looking at secondary and tertiary markets?
• What infrastructure and connectivity needs to be in place for future developments?
• Which emerging markets are gaining the most interest?

Live Talk Show: Datacenter Changemakers Denmark, Episode 1: Top CIO & CTO Challenges in Today's Volatile Landscape

Date: September 21, 2023, at 9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. CEST

Speaker: Dr. Tomas Rahkonen, Research Director of Distributed Data Centers, Uptime Institute

As enterprise and government CIOs and CTOs grapple with an increasingly complex environment, they must not only expand their infrastructure platforms and adapt to hybrid IT and multicloud solutions, but also tackle geopolitical polarization, supply chain disruptions, inflation, climate change, and labor/skills shortages. To thrive, tech leaders must devise innovative business models and unlock fresh revenue streams. Join us for an insightful talk show that addresses the core challenges CIOs and CTOs face today.

Session: Uptime Institute's Global Data Center Survey 2023 Results

Date: September 21, 2023, at 3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. CEST

Speaker: Dr. Tomas Rahkonen, Research Director of Distributed Data Centers, Uptime Institute

The data center industry's largest and most comprehensive survey results are in! Uptime Institute's 13th-annual global survey reveals an industry that is growing, dynamic, and increasingly resilient, yet facing a widening range of challenges. Spending on data centers and related services is strong, despite persistent staffing shortages and supply chain delays. New technologies present a promising way forward, but are expensive and lack standardization and scalability. Furthermore, creating a more environmentally sustainable footprint along with reducing energy use is a major and growing focus as operators brace for heightened scrutiny, regulations, and reporting requirements coming into fruition. Hear about these findings and more!

Uptime Insights Workshop: Sustainability Real World Programs & Initiatives Designed to Deliver Impactful Outcomes

Date: September 26, 2023, at 4:50 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. GMT+2

Speakers: Ali Moinuddin, Managing Director – Europe, Uptime Institute; Dr. Tomas Rahkonen, Research Director of Distributed Data Centers, Uptime Institute

According to the World Economic Forum, 90% of executives believe sustainability is important, but only 60% of organizations have sustainability strategies in place. Embedding sustainability into digital infrastructure strategy is essential to meet evolving investor pressure, consumer demand, and regulatory requirements. In the coming years, operators of digital infrastructure will be required to report (and reduce) their environmental footprint in a variety of ways. Digital Infrastructure Owners & Operators must have a sustainability strategic plan in place.

The informational and informative Uptime Intelligence Insight session is for digital infrastructure owners and operators, designed to help them deliver meaningful improvements to Sustainability plans, programs and outcomes. Whether your organization has begun the process of sustainability planning, is unclear on where to start, or has gotten further into the planning process but still have questions on how to get where they want to go this workshop will provide valuable signposts.

Uptime Insights session includes:

• Tips and strategies on the creation of a Sustainability Strategy & plan, how do you start? And how far do you need to go?
• How to bring the plan from ideas into action
• How to better collect, understand and report on sustainability metrics
• The greening of data center operations – what does it mean and how to translate the action required and the benefits through to the executive level
• Q&A Session:
  • I want to be sure I understand what some of the best end-to-end sustainability programs consist of, can you share information on that?
  • What do I need to consider to build a comprehensive sustainability strategy?
  • What is the best process to use to be sure I progress against goals and objectives?
  • How do I start? How can I be clear on the right objectives?
  • How do I make sure I have executive support and approval?
  • How do I create greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals that consider Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions?
  • How do I cover energy use while still including the importance of IT efficiency equipment (servers, storage, and networking) in a sustainability plan?
• Open question segment

CXOs Summit Keynote: 13th Annual Global Data Center Survey Results

Date: September 26, 2023, 4:00 p.m. – 4:20 p.m. GMT-5

Speaker: Arturo Maqueo Bobadilla, Director of Business Development Mexico, Central America & Caribbean, Uptime Institute

Session: DCD>Debate: The business case for heat reuse - is it just a pipe dream?

Date: October 2, 2023, at 2:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. GMT+1

Speaker: Max Smolaks, Research Analyst, Uptime Institute

Liquid cooling offers high quality waste heat and the opportunity for effective heat reuse. Yet the concept is far from becoming mainstream despite its sustainable credentials. So what needs to be done to transition from nice to have to future requirement, and is this even viable?

From location constraints and PUE issues, to finding actual users and integrating into brownfield sites, this debate will tackle the realities and practicalities of heat reuse. What are the infrastructure requirements both for data center design and for connection to district heating systems? How will it impact the future of intelligent cooling? What are the incentives to participate? How can the industry build a business case for heat reuse - and should we be? We ask the experts.

Session: Digital Infrastructure Sustainability – Some Inconvenient Truths

Date: October 9, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. CDT

Speaker: Andy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute

Our Digital Infrastructure Industry is big on messaging. In a review of recent industry messaging, we noted that the IT data center industry leads in sustainability, and efficiency gains outpace most industries. We talk about industry goals, commitments, and innovations. But the truth is – we have a way to go. In the recent Uptime Intelligence Global Survey of IT and data center Managers, 45% of those surveyed said they didn’t think the global data center sector is delivering meaningful reductions in environmental impacts, and our environmental commitments in curbing data center energy use, water usage, and greenhouse gas emissions are lacking. So, which is correct? The truth is, corporate net-zero goals will be frequently missed, and overall difficulties and costs are underestimated. Our good intentions need more push from the executive level. And that same good intention needs to channel itself into better and more ongoing sustained collaboration with critical, regular, and ongoing collaboration between finance, IT, sustainability, and procurement in order to make more impact on sustainability progress. We must be sure that exterior collaboration must be included in the mix with colos, cloud providers, utilities, and energy providers along with IT equipment and service providers. Collaboration like this is imperative and key to solving these issues. This session will look at what needs to be done collectively to achieve sustainability goals and how to work collectively to take ownership and employ better communication and strategy to impact digital infrastructure sustainability goals.

Speaker: Dr. Tomas Rahkonen, Research Director, Distributed Data Centers, Uptime Institute

Session: Uptime Institute Global Data Center Survey 2023 Results

Date: October 12, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. to 1:55 p.m. GMT+2

Speaker: Sylvie Le Roy, Business Development Director France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, Uptime Institute

Panel: The Role of Central & Eastern Europe in the Global Data Centre Landscape

Date: October 19, 2023, at 11:20 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. GMT+1

Speaker: Ali Moinuddin, Managing Director – Europe, Uptime Institute

Eastern Europe has been experiencing significant growth in its data infrastructure, including data centers, in recent years. Several factors have contributed to this growth, including the increasing demand for cloud computing, the outsourcing of financing, accounting and IT to the region, and favorable economic conditions. However, whilst 4G and fiber broadband connectivity has been growing, 5G penetration looks to continue to be slow. This panel will cover the largely untapped potential of the region, and will cover areas including:

• An overview of the current state of the data center market in Eastern Europe, including latest trends and projections for future growth, and in labor markets and innovation.
• Comparing Eastern Europe with other regions, such as Asia, North America, and Western Europe, the types of businesses investing in these markets, and factors driving growth.
• The potential for collaboration and partnerships between businesses in Eastern Europe and those in other regions, particularly through initiatives such as Three Seas which seek to establish cross border data centers and optical fiber networks.

Speaker: Sylvie Le Roy, Business Development Director France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, Uptime Institute

Speakers: Antonio Ramos, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, LEET Security; Rafael Serrano, Senior Consultant, Uptime Institute

DCD>Debate: Can we do more with less when it comes to data center operations?

Date: November 6, 2023, at 2:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. CDT

Speakers: Mark Gusakov, Director of Client Resiliency, Uptime Institute

In the current climate, faced with a spiralling cost crisis particularly in the areas of energy and infrastructure purchasing, reducing operating costs is more important now than ever before. But how can operators reduce costs without opening themselves up to increased operational risk?

This debate will tackle how the industry can do more with less from an operational perspective. How will data center management and operations have to evolve to meet the challenges now faced? What technologies will play a part? Will the solution be hardware or software-orientated? Where and how can hard costs be eliminated without impacting uptime? We ask the experts.

Speaker: Sylvie Le Roy, Business Development Director France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, Uptime Institute

Speaker: Scott Roots, Business Development Director, Europe

Speaker: Mustapha Louni, Senior Vice President, IMEA & SAPAC Regions, Uptime Institute

Opening Keynote: Renewable energy: Opportunities, benefits and challenges for the data centre sector

Date: November 30, 2023, at 9:35 a.m. – 10:05 a.m. GMT

Speaker: Ali Moinuddin, Managing Director – Europe, Uptime Institute

Speaker: Philip Hu, Managing Director, North Asia

Speaker: Mustapha Louni, Senior Vice President, IMEA & SAPAC Regions, Uptime Institute

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