D E E P D I V E
How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office ?
My career has always been very all-consuming , so it ’ s important to me that I take time to get out and occasionally get my mind away from everything to reset . I always try to remind myself that whatever is going on will be there when I get back , especially as everything seems clearer when you return after taking a step away . Although , this is a skill I ’ ve had to learn over the course of my career , and I find it a lot easier now than I used to . One of my favourite ways to do this is playing golf which I ’ ve always found very therapeutic . If I ’ m truly focused on playing my best game of golf , my thoughts can ’ t be elsewhere .
What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in your industry ?
Building and upgrading data centres , so that they are fit to power the AI industry and it ’ s predicted growth rate is huge . AI feels very all-encompassing for the data centre sector at the moment , and with its potential to impact innovation across all sectors , data infrastructure being a focus is perhaps unsurprising . I expect the pace of change to continue exponentially , and so the upgrading of facilities to power AI is a huge area of investment . Many hyperscalers are having to retrofit facilities , so Ardent being one step ahead here is very exciting . Density is driving everything , and we ’ re at the forefront of this . At a more granular level , investment is focused on adapting the data centre from air-based to liquid-cooling technologies .
What are the region-specific challenges you encounter in your role ?
We ’ re a global business so the region-specific challenges vary . Ardent has an exciting growth plan , so when looking to expand our data centre portfolio each site brings its own challenges . We have to ensure that the sites are cost-effective and so assess each individually – we always do due-diligence to ensure we meet mission critical environments . Specifically , power connections and climate are two major considerations for us .
What changes to your job role have you seen in the last year and how do you see these developing in the coming months ?
In this industry , it really feels like change is the only constant . Short-term , my role will be overseeing the construction and infrastructure developments making sure we can source infrastructure and build out our data centre portfolio quickly – going to market as strong as possible . It is mind-blowing how infinite the compute required to meet the demand for AI and High-Performance Computing is , and this trend isn ’ t going away . I ’ m excited for the future of our industry and proud to play a part in shaping its continued evolution . �
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