Data Centre LIVE 2025: The Problem of Digital Infrastructure
At Data Centre LIVE Global 2025, Dame Dawn Childs DBE FREng, CEO of Pure Data Centres Group, delivered a keynote addressing the data centre industry’s most pressing and complex issue — what she called a “wicked problem”.
Dawn mapped out the interconnected challenges currently affecting digital infrastructure, from power scarcity and sustainability, to regulation and the demands of artificial intelligence.
The digital infrastructure sector's wicked problem
Dawn began by framing the industry’s current state as a “wicked problem” — a concept dating back to the 1970s to describe challenges that are so deeply interwoven and complex that they cannot be solved outright, only tamed.
"Our story is absolutely headline grabbing," she said. “Nearly on a daily basis, there's some new headline or other about AI or data centres and they're normally not particularly good — saying they're power hungry, referencing the AI frenzy, et cetera."
She argued that digital infrastructure has evolved into the “fourth utility,” alongside water, electricity and gas.
This evolution, however, has not come without conflict.
On one hand, the demand for AI and digital services is soaring. On the other, that growth is bumping up against constraints like power availability, regulation, supply chain issues and the environmental costs of expansion.
Dawn explained: “Even though we are a significant growth sector, we may well be stopped in our tracks due to the challenges of this wicked problem.
“And there are only three potential solution pathways to tame a wicked problem. I believe that for our industry, the only feasible pathway is actually through collaboration.”
Second-tier markets and power dilemmas
Much of the talk focused on how the energy dilemma is driving market shifts.
The traditional FLAPD markets – Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin — have seen only modest growth, while second-tier markets like Warsaw, Lisbon, Vienna and Madrid are surging due to better access to power.
Dawn cited a 48% growth rate in these emerging markets compared to just 16% in the traditional ones.
The reason behind this shift? Data sovereignty and a scramble for power availability in less congested areas.
The conversation also touched on how geopolitical tensions, regulation, and localised power rules — like those surrounding private wire infrastructure in Europe — are adding further complexity.
“Given that lack of clarity and consistency on the regulatory front, it's becoming increasingly difficult to do business in some locations,” she explained.
AI’s power paradox and the industry’s role in the green transition
Perhaps most striking were Dawn’s reflections on AI’s rapid proliferation and its unintended consequences.
Referencing Deutsche Bank, she pointed to the US$340bn investment boom across AI, with tech giants’ spending surpassing the size of some national economies.
She uncovers the reality: “A single Google search can power a 100W light bulb for about 11 seconds, whereas a GPT like instance can be anywhere from 600 to 800 times more powerful than that single Google search.”
The environmental impact of AI, coupled with the industry's energy demands, risks becoming unsustainable unless innovation is channelled into solutions.
Dawn offered a rallying cry for the industry to be part of the solution.
She promoted the idea of “software-defined power,” allowing data centres to operate as flexible grid assets.
"We could prioritise SLA-driven workloads and safeguard our customer commitments, while still providing significant flexibility to the grid operators,” she explained.
Looking ahead, she emphasised that regulation is likely to be the next major inflection point.
The industry must engage with policymakers to ensure new rules are both proportionate and supportive of growth and innovation.
“People from within the industry are the only ones with the expertise to collaborate with policymakers,” she argued.
She closed her keynote with a compelling call to action. “Our challenge is that the current regulations and rule sets do not enable what we need, nor do they help the governments to achieve their aspirations for either the green transition AI leadership or data sovereignty.
“Regulation and policy play such a pivotal role by providing the correct balance of regulation and incentives.”
A significant announcement and the road ahead
“We're thrilled to have such a brilliant partner," she says. “As we grow, this is really game-changing for us and in precisely the direction that we wanted to move our business in.
“This is a very exciting joint venture and hopefully the start of even better things to come.”
She also highlighted community benefits, noting: “The second data centre in London that we're building is going to have the largest living wall in the world around it because it's taking pollution out of the atmosphere.
“That's doing a really great service to the local community as well as, of course, providing the data centre needs.”
Dawn concluded her presentation with a powerful reminder: “We are five minutes into this marathon rather than nearing the end of a 100-metre sprint.”
As the industry navigates this tangle of technological, environmental and regulatory threads, collaboration will be the only way forward.
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