EDITOR’ S LETTER
ALIX PRESSLEY, EDITOR
he beginning of a new month can only mean
T one thing: a brand-new instalment of Intelligent Data Centres magazine. We’ re almost halfway through the year and with data centre innovation continuing on an upward trajectory, the pace of transformation is only set to continue.
On the cover this issue, we bring you the Director of Energy at Kesko. Antti Kokkonen discusses the Finnish retailer’ s partnership with data centre provider, atNorth, offering thoughtprovoking insight into how heat is being reused to reduce emissions at the company’ s flagship store.
Towards the end of publication, Brandon Smith, VP of Global Sales and Product at ZincFive, highlights nickel-zinc as a turnkey retrofit alternative to brownfield valve regulated leadacid( VRLA) deployments, delivering high-power performance, superior safety, longer service life, lower lifecycle emissions and simplified compliance within existing infrastructure.
That’ s just a snapshot of what we have in store this month. For more of the latest news and insights, visit our website: intelligentdatacentres. com.
Kokkonen outlines the importance of reducing emissions from the heating of its properties and how this is prioritised as part of the organisation’ s sustainability strategy. The initiative also highlights the broader role data centres can play in supporting local energy ecosystems. Read about this in more detail on page 14.
Arguably one of the most pivotal pieces in this month’ s issue comes from Switch Datacenters, a leading provider of high-density sustainable data centres. The results from the organisation’ s 2025 Sustainability Report outline a clear pathway to reach net-positive impact by 2040.
The findings conclude that data centre operators must engage with local communities to thrive. Read more on page 19 to find out how Switch Datacenters is supporting local societies and economies and ensuring the minimum possible impact on the environment.
Turn to page 23 to understand how resilient UPS systems and intelligent power distribution solutions are becoming critical to enabling sustainable growth in the evolving energy landscape. Matthew Baynes, Vice President, Secure Power and Data Centres, UK and Ireland at Schneider Electric, offers his expert insight.
CONTACT US
ALIX. PRESSLEY @ INTELLIGENTGLOBALMEDIA. COM
www. intelligentdatacentres. com 3