ELLA HUTCHINSON , DEPUTY EDITOR

ello and welcome to the latest edition of

Intelligent Data Centres and the last of 2024 ! As another turbulent year comes to an end , we ask experts to reflect on the previous 12 months and their thoughts on the new year ahead .

On the cover this month is Adrian Lazenby , Head of Technical Site Engineering and Delivery , Virgin Media O2 , discussing the continued partnership with EkkoSense . As one of the UK ’ s largest mobile and broadband networks , sustainability is at the core of Virgin Media O2 ’ s operations to minimise its impact on the planet . Reducing its energy usage and sourcing renewable energy was a core focus .

In its strategy to achieve net zero carbon emissions across all three scopes by the end of 2040 , we spoke with Lazenby to get more insight into how EkkoSense helped secure energy savings of over £ 1 million through data centre cooling optimisation .

“ Innovation sits at the heart of everything that Virgin Media O2 does , and we ’ re making significant investments into our infrastructure expansion and upgrades as we roll out our nextgeneration 5G mobile and fibre networks ,” said Lazenby . “ This invariably involves a greater workload demand on the company ’ s network of technical sites and places an increased focus on ensuring that our sites operate as efficiently as possible .

“ The EkkoSense solution brings together an exclusive mix of technology and capabilities . Low-cost Internet-of-Things ( IoT ) sensors provide the innovative SaaS platform with valuable data and , using Machine Learning , provides AI analytics , gamingclass 3D visualisation and Digital Twin capabilities that help to streamline the optimisation process ,” added Lazenby . To read more , turn to p50 .

On pages 31 – 34 , in this month ’ s Editor ’ s Question , we ask industry experts if modular data centres are streamlining the construction process and if they ’ re seen as the future of data centre developments . We hear from Harqs Singh , CTO , Infrapartners ; David Mitchell , Founder & CEO , XYZ Reality ; and Matone Ditlhake , CEO , Corridor Africa Technologies .

Also featured in the December issue is Aggreko ’ s latest report , Rebalancing the Energy Transition , which highlights the struggles of 400 CEOs in Europe adjusting their net zero timescales in light of energy supply and pricing issues . Alongside this are more insights about the influence of data centres in the Middle East ’ s Digital Transformation strategy , discussing the need for speed and why aligning battery backups isn ’ t just a technical decision , but a strategic one .

Don ’ t forget you can read daily news updates on our website , and please don ’ t hesitate to get in touch for editorial and commercial opportunities .

I ’ d like to wish you a great festive season and a Happy New Year . See you in 2025 !

Ella Hutchinson Deputy Editor

ELLA @ LYNCHPINMEDIA . COM

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