2022 has got off to a flying start and it already feels like it could be a pivotal year for the data centre sector. Those charged with managing and operating these facilities have a lot to think about at the moment and along with the rollout of 5G and the growth of the internet of things (IoT), they also need to make their facilities as energy efficient as possible.    

However, recent research from the Uptime Institute found that Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) levels remain stagnant and organisations are not closely tracking their environmental footprints, despite the global sustainability push. This month’s Question Time asks a panel of experts whether this suggests a growing sense of green fatigue and what more should be done to accelerate the transition to zero carbon emissions through energy efficient data centres.    

The colocation data centre sector is also set to remain buoyant and we’ve asked Josh Buis of Vantage Data Centers to provide an overview of the latest developments in the global colocation data centre market and look at what the future has in store. Data centre growth has also meant that more people are needed to operate them and this is proving problematic. Joe Palmer of Colt Data Centre Services (Colt DCS) looks at the reasons behind the data centre skills shortage and what needs to be done about it.    

Also in this issue we focus on copper cabling, with two excellent articles on the subject. In the first, Valerie Maguire and Lee Funnell of Siemon discuss why the latest wireless technologies like the emerging Wi-Fi 7 and Li-Fi still can’t threaten copper cabling networks. In the second, Robert Luijten of Fluke Networks explains best practice for testing copper cabling and the pitfalls to avoid.     

Rob Shepherd 
Editor