Not so long ago, while chatting with a well renowned industry expert, he commented that given the reliance that everyone has on data centres, they somehow remain a mystery to pretty much anyone who doesn't work in the sector. While I agree with him, it got me thinking about the repercussions of this situation and whether the public really cares – or indeed if they should.

It also struck me that this lack of understanding about data centres is perhaps due to the sector’s unwillingness to be more outward looking and promote itself effectively by stating its role in society. Given the skills shortage and potential it offers young people as a career, it also seems that we are missing a trick. To look at this in more depth Inside_Networks has assembled a panel of experts to assess what could be done to put data centres on the public’s radar.

 Also in this issue we have a feature on UPS and power distribution. Louis McGarry of Centiel examines the need to develop sustainable data centres for the future through more efficient energy use, while Carsten Ludwig of R&M examines data centre sustainability and resiliency in relation to UPS and power distribution technology.

They are joined by our second feature on wireless network infrastructures, where Stuart McKay of Panduit explains how to safely power 5G for in-building networks. He’s followed by Mittal Parekh of Ruckus Networks, who explains how Wi-Fi 7 powers connectivity in challenging environments.

The use of power in data centres is something that I recently spoke about with Schneider Electric’s Steven Carlini. He made some fascinating comments about a range of subjects, not least of all the impact of graphics processing units (GPUs) that are being used to train artificial intelligence on power usage. 

You can read my full interview with him in this issue.

Rob Shepherd
Editor