THE DATA CENTRE INTERVIEW
For CyrusOne, this creates a dual opportunity: ensuring compliance while simultaneously using knowledge of regulatory direction to inform where and how the company expands. Alanna is direct about the practical implications. Power availability and pricing may look attractive on paper in a given market, but if the regulatory environment can erode that advantage, it changes the calculus entirely.
“ It’ s all well and good knowing that power prices are going to do X, Y, and Z in a given market, or that power is secure there,” she says.“ However, having power on paper is a solid starting point, but if regulations change and they put in place procedures whereby you can lose the power if you can’ t develop within a certain timetable that doesn’ t match our business needs, then it’ s all been for nothing – regardless of whether the power was going to be cheap or green.”
Breaking down silos to engage policymakers effectively Influencing regulation requires more than legal expertise. Alanna says that meaningful engagement with policymakers depends on bringing the right voices to the table – particularly technical ones. When it comes to explaining how data centres actually function, and what the unintended consequences of poorly drafted legislation might look like in practice, engineers and operations staff are often better placed than lawyers.
“ From a legal team perspective, we’ re working really closely to see what’ s coming down the tracks and what we’ ve already got,” she says.“ But we’ re also working really closely with the policy team that we have internally, to engage with governments and other stakeholders to explain how the sector works, what some of those regulations mean for us, and to try and shape them – saying, for example, actually, that doesn’ t have the consequence you’ re intending; we can’ t do that for tangible reasons.”
The day-to-day reality of crossfunctional collaboration involves internal stakeholders, external law firms, planning advisors and, increasingly, AI-driven horizon-scanning tools that flag relevant
24 July 2026