A new era for the cloud

Industry experts reflect on the changing data centre landscape and the future of cloud .

The past year has had a profound impact on the enthusiasm with which the global economy has embraced the cloud . As we approach the first anniversary of life beneath the shadow of COVID-19 , the effect of the pandemic on the data centre industry is growing more pronounced . “ Thanks to an exponential increase in demand for content delivery in entertainment , education and commerce , 2020 saw a huge spike in demand for data ,” says Brian Johnson , global data centre leader at ABB . With lockdowns continuing to require millions of people to work from home , as well as deepening our collective dependency on digital services , data centres have become increasingly essential pieces of infrastructure . “ They ’ ve been crucial to keeping businesses going and people connected ,” Johnson adds .