What to expect at Data Centre World 2020

No matter where visitors are on the data centre spectrum, DCW offers two days to step back, “take the temperature” of the industry and evaluate where you are on your data centre journey. By rubbing shoulders with thousands of experts, immersing yourself in a topical conference agenda, and having all the latest innovations in one place, you can make lasting connections with peers and bring home invaluable guidance for the year ahead.

This year’s agenda

In 2019, it became readily apparent that edge computing represents a dramatic redistribution of the world’s IT footprint. A swelling cavalry of “IoT” devices and applications, in need of real-time computing power, are driving demand for remote sites that process, handle and deliver data closer to the user. Sites that look very different from the hyperscale server farms that power the public cloud.

At this year’s DCW, thought leaders will tackle “the edge’s” most pressing and unanswered questions. Expert speakers will debate construction and financing challenges, viable use cases and the role of 5G in accelerating the edge proposition.

Carmaker Ford is one company that has been rapidly ramping up its edge efforts. For anyone embarking on their own edge journey, Ford’s IT Facilities Manager, Mark Howell’s Day 1 Keynote session is an unmissable opportunity to learn about the power of distributed IT, and its cost and construction challenges.

Then there’s the climate crisis. From raging bushfires to record temperatures and melting ice caps, the impacts of climate change are now impossible to ignore.

Data centres, for all the benefits they have introduced, make a significant contribution to climate change and account for roughly 2 percent of global carbon emissions. The data centre industry has a vital role to play in the transition to a carbon-free future. This year’s DCW will focus on the practical measures facility managers can implement to minimise impact.

Kevin Kent is a data centre manager and regular speaker at global climate summits. His message is clear and simple: (in his own words) “Everything you do to reduce matters, everything you do counts!”. Kent has challenged every data centre owner to reduce output by 25 kW hours a day. If you think you can rise to that challenge, don’t miss his Day 2 Keynote session.

DCW 2020 will also zone in on the data centre market off the back of several high-profile mergers and acquisitions and rising investment opportunities. Investors and property specialists are advised to attend the Day 1 market focus where Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. director, John Wilson, will moderate a panel on the changing face of data centre financing. Topics under the microscope include edge computing’s impact on data centre and hyperscale investment models and what this all means for colocation.

This is only a snapshot of the issues under debate and speakers taking to the stage. Joining these experts are Mark Thiele, Ericsson’s Executive Director of Edge Cloud, Simon McCormick, CTO of Echelon Data Centres, Paul Mortlock, Investment Director at CBRE, Michael O’Toole, former MD of Morgan Stanley, and many more.

“This year’s DCW will yet again set the standard for events in our industry,” commented DCW Event Director, Rabinder Aulakh. “We cannot wait to welcome record numbers of attendees from over 90 countries to the ExCeL to learn, buy and network.”

To register for Data Centre World London 2020, visit https://bit.ly/2S3Iqfr