PodChats for FutureCIO: Considerations for digital infrastructure

 The digitalisation of operations and the increasing use of streaming and internet usage drive demand for data and boost the data centre market with positive long-term growth opportunities.According to CBRE, the strong demand (for data centre capacity) is yielding record-low vacancy rates and the worldwide shortage of available supply is leading to price increases for data centre capacity. A Clifford Chance report predicts the data centre industry growth will be tempered by higher costs, slowing economies in many parts of the world, new capacity challenges and increased regulation due to sustainability concerns about energy and water consumption.CBRE posits this will spur innovations in data centre design and technology as operators aim to deliver the capacity that meets the increased power density requirements of high-performance computing.Joining us today on PodChats for CIO is Daniel Pointon, Group Chief Technology Officer for ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) to give us an update on data centre trends as viewed from the perspective of a data centre operator.1.       To help frame our discussion and provide context to your responses, please describe the business of ST Telemedia Global Data Centres.2.       Reports from analysts and consultants suggest that 2023 onwards will continue to see more organisations going into the cloud. At the same time, we are also hearing of an exodus back to on-premises (owned) data centres for some. Either direction is good news for builders and operators of data centres, would you agree? 3.       For data centre operators, what do you see are mid to long-term opportunities and challenges?4.       You are the chief technology officer for STT GDC. When it comes to the business of data centre operators, what is the function of the CTO? How does this overlap with that of the CIO?5.       In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in data sovereignty. How does the requirement in some sectors for data to stay in-country, impact some of the value propositions of the cloud like economies of scale, the ability to access your data from anywhere, and perhaps not having to worry where it is physically stored?6.       For organisations looking at either owning/operating their own data centre or co-locating, what are key considerations that the heads of technology (CIO/CTO) and finance (CFO) need to bear in mind?a.       When does ROI come into the picture when deciding between building your own data centre or hooking up with a co-lo company like STT GDC?7.       Just out of curiosity, what is the expectation of the life of a data centre these days? 8.       From the perspective of a company looking to co-locate its compute needs, what would be a prudent approach to ensure a cost-effective, scalable and sustainable critical infrastructure?