ALIX PRESSLEY, EDITOR

ello and welcome to the latest edition of

Intelligent Data Centres, where we bring you a roundup of the data centre industry ' s most pivotal announcements and exciting developments taking place globally. As always, this issue reflects an industry in constant motion, balancing rapid technological change with the practical realities of infrastructure, sustainability and cost.

The month ' s cover story comes from Aprolis UK, a specialist in the sale, rental and ongoing support of materials handling equipment and industrial solutions. Marcus Curtis, the company ' s IT Manager, explains how moving 90 ageing, scattered servers into Node4 ' s Virtual Data Centre cut the company ' s physical estate down to just 24, while giving his team the fixed pricing and direct control it needed to win board approval. It ' s a compelling example of how consolidation and virtualisation can deliver both operational efficiency and financial clarity. You can find the full story on page 14.

Compliance Officer at Expereo, explains why transparency around emissions, ethical sourcing and supply chain practices is a prerequisite for credibility and how forward-thinking businesses are getting ahead of ESG regulation rather than simply reacting to it.

Other discussion points this month show enhanced commitment to sustainability practices, as well as the expansion of new facilities and infrastructure plans across Europe in particular. Our Intelligent Technology pages begin on page 30, where you can find out more.

Keep up to date with the latest news, insights, thought leadership articles and customer stories via our website: www. intelligentdatacentres. com

If you ' d like to contribute to the next instalment of the magazine, please don ' t hesitate to reach out to me: alix. pressley @ intelligentglobalmedia. com

A key talking point on page 21 explores the AI data centre gold rush fuelling delays, reworks and higher costs. New research from data centre infrastructure specialist Onnec found that surging demand for AI is heaping pressure onto data centre operators to accelerate builds, increasing the risk of delays, higher costs and remediation after go-live, a timely warning as the industry races to keep pace with demand.

On page 25, Schneider Electric ' s Matthew Baynes, VP, Secure Power & Data Centres in the UK & Ireland, offers some food for thought as he discusses how turning waste energy from AI and high-performance infrastructure into a resource can be a net zero advantage, rather than simply a byproduct to manage.

ALIX. PRESSLEY @ INTELLIGENTGLOBALMEDIA. COM

Later in the magazine, we take a look at how stricter ESG compliance is expected to build trust in the age of energyintensive AI. Sujata Kukreja, Global Counsel and Chief

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