Could 2025 be a defining year for data centres? That’s certainly the opinion of Stewart Laing, CEO of Asanti Data Centres, who explores what he thinks will be the big themes this year.

When the BBC’s World at One team visited our Farnborough data centre in October, we talked at length about the vital role data centres play in the UK’s digital future. Our conversation touched on everything from the growing demand for data storage to the complexities of energy consumption and the emerging challenges presented by (artificial intelligence) AI.

There’s no doubt that 2025 will be a defining year for the UK’s data centre market and as we stand on the brink of unprecedented change, we, the UK data centre industry, need to tackle some pressing challenges to ensure our industry delivers on the growth predictions we are seeing.