Data Centre LIVE: The London Summit 2026 Photo Roundup

A month on from Data Centre LIVE: The London Summit, we share some of the key takeaways from the latest edition of Data Centre Magazine.

At the event, critical discussion about data centre strategies, power and cooling solutions, sustainability and inclusion all took place, continuing to hold industry relevance as attendees and leaders reflect and draw on these key insights.

Here are some of the most important quotes and moments from the event.

Global Data Centre Strategies

On the Global Data Centre Strategies panel, the key discussion points were AI infrastructure demand and emerging investment markets.

One panellist, Nomin Chinbat, the Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Communications of Mongolia for the Government of Mongolia, gave a unique perspective on how governments are viewing the data centre industry.

“I'd like to say that I think this industry was viewed as just power, but I think governments are actually shifting in the way that it is viewed as an industry itself.

“Policy makers are looking at it as an individual industry that requires a policy that is agile enough to develop at the same speed as the industry is developing.”

Energy and AI. Who’s working for who?

In a separate fireside chat, Dr. Ben Krikler, Head of Energised Futures and Director of Research & Innovation at Centrica, discussed the strange paradox of AI, sometimes described as both the problem and the solution within the energy sector.

“It’s clearly a hungry beast," he said.

“At the same time, AI could become one of the energy sector’s most powerful optimisation tools, improving forecasting, supporting decarbonisation efforts and helping operators make smarter infrastructure decisions in real time."

The AI Data Centre Debate

In the AI Data Centre Debate, this topic was thoroughly analysed, as many questions arose both within the debate itself and from the audience.

In fact, when an audience member challenged GreenScale's Jean-François Berche on US pushback against data centres and water usage, he acknowledged regional complexity but explained how he has little patience for these conversations.

"There is no data centre that is using water at the expense of the community," he said. "That's just not true."

Jamie Allen, Head of Site Acquisition EMEA at Iron Mountain, added: "Anyone that is in the large scale campus business knows that it isn't a design problem any more."

The Future of Energy Transition

Meanwhile on the Think Tank stage, Martin Reed, Global ESG Director, Data Centre Solutions, CBRE, questioned whether the industry is truly ready to deliver renewable energy consumption 24 hours a day.

“Are the mechanisms to truly reach 100% there?” he asked.

Dame Dawn Childs, Non Executive Director of Pure Data Centres, argued that this should not halt the expansion of data centre capacity. 

“I don’t think the desire to have 24/7 matched power consumption should stop data centre development,” she said.

Emerging Technologies: The Convergence of AI & Quantum 

Petrina Steele, Global Lead of Emerging Technologies at Equinix explained that it is easiest to think of digital infrastructure as a "layer cake". 

Internet service providers form the first tier, then network providers, then content delivery and cloud. 

As AI is being added to the tower, Quantum will crown it.

While quantum computing is still far from full maturation, its development is becoming more tangible each year.

Women in Data Centres

Held on Day 2 of Data Centre LIVE, the "Women in Data Centres" panel focused on the operational reality facing digital infrastructure.

The consensus of the conversation was that female leadership in the data centre industry is not new, but is something that has been happening for years.

The panel's moderator, Villie Xeni, Commissioning & Engineering Director at MiCiM Ltd, said: “Women in data centres – it's not something groundbreaking anymore. It's normal, it's happening, and if you're not a part of it, you're probably a bit left behind."

However, Eve McIlvaney, VP Global Procurement, Yondr Group, said the industry still lacks enough women at senior leadership level.

In an exclusive interview with Data Centre Magazine, Rebecca Weekly, VP Infrastructure Engineering at GEICO, offered direct advice to women wanting to enter the industry.

“Stick with it. Believe in yourself,” she advocated. “Don't worry about being different, because that's actually a great feature, not a bug."

Register Your Interest

If you enjoyed this year's Data Centre LIVE event, or missed out and would love to be involved next year, make sure to register your interest in the LIVE World Tour.

Attendees from sustainability, procurement, supply chain, data centre and AI sectors can gain insights from other experts in the field, with the opportunity to network.

Register your interest here.