TECH & AI
Participation in grid-balancing and demand-side response services is increasingly common, with data centres offering excess storage and capacity to support grid stability, especially as more renewables come online. This move represents a fundamental shift, with data centres becoming prosumers as well as power users.
Capital flows and smart infrastructure investment Demand for digital capacity and smart infrastructure is accelerating investment, with private and institutional capital flowing into the sector.
DigitalBridge, Equinix and NTT have each outlined aggressive capex strategies for 2025, as asset value, energy requirements and scale set new industry records.
Marc Ganzi reaffirmed this in early 2025, noting DigitalBridge’ s US $ 26bn war chest and a forecast that the capex cycle will only accelerate.“ The credit markets are open. But the way we finance this sector is changing. Digital credit has become a big part of what we do,” he stated.
Talent, skills and the human factor The surge in automation and digitalisation brings a growing need for skilled talent capable of managing increasingly complex systems.
The widening digital skills gap risks slowing progress, making partnerships with universities and specialist training organisations a top priority.
The new generation of practitioners and technologists must combine
expertise in AI and software with deep understanding of hardware, energy markets and operational resilience.
Industry-leading experts see smart infrastructure as more than just a technical solution – it’ s a human-centric business imperative reshaping capital flows, recruitment, operations and even geography.
Future-proofing the data centre sector As digital infrastructure evolves, the challenge facing operators
140 November 2025