THE DATA CENTRE INTERVIEW
“ We’ re not looking to acquire land and exit the market quickly,” Alanna says.“ We want to develop sites and operate them as part of a local community. So finding a framework that supports the national criticality of data centres whilst also bringing communities and local governments along on the journey is an area that’ s going to be really important in the next year or so.”
Regulatory intelligence as a longterm differentiator for market leaders Looking further ahead, Alanna believes that the ability to manage regulatory complexity – both for compliance and for strategic positioning – will increasingly distinguish established operators from newer entrants. The resource required to do this well is not trivial, and smaller players may find it difficult to match the investment that larger operators can make in dedicated legal, policy and advisory functions.
The consequences of getting it wrong extend beyond regulatory fines, which Alanna notes can be modest in some areas. The more significant risks are delays to project delivery and damage to commercial credibility with lenders, customers and other stakeholders.
“ Any mistake can have huge implications,” she says.“ Sometimes that’ s a financial cost – and I don’ t mean fines from regulators primarily. Rather, it’ s the delays in our ability to develop a project, or to successfully hand it over to a customer, which can have far more significant reputational and monetary consequences.”
“CyrusOne wants to be a good partner to the community and to the businesses that we serve”
Alanna Hasek European General Counsel CyrusOne
That calculus points towards a model in which regulatory intelligence is treated not as a defensive function but as a strategic one – informing market entry decisions, shaping policy conversations and, ultimately, helping to build frameworks that the industry can actually operate within.
“ I think some people assume that less regulation is what the industry is looking for,” Alanna says.“ And actually, sometimes it’ s not about having less regulation – that’ s not necessarily the ultimate aim. I think it’ s more about having regulation which is predictable as far as possible, and also implemented in a way that enables the sector to grow sustainably – in a way that communities can support, because they can see that, ultimately, CyrusOne wants to be a good partner to the community and to the businesses that we serve. So it’ s not about avoiding regulation or making it less. It’ s actually about using it in a way that makes us a positive partner.”
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