In this bonus episode of the DDI Podcast, hear one of the many interesting panels that took place at Data Centre World 2024, at ExCel London.

Hosted by Schneider Electric's Digital Services Business Director, Nathan Ghundoo, with a panel of industry guests including Matthieu Lecapitaine, Partner Manager at AVEVA (a Schneider Electric company); Andy McKenzie, Commercial Consultancy Leader at Schneider Electric consultancy for the UK&I; and Paul Almond, Director of Data Centre UK.

Hear the panel share interesting and stimulating insights into the data centre industry, and how they are adapting to decarbonise and become more optimised in their operations.

In the final episode of Season 3, Mark welcomes David Watkins, Solutions Director at VIRTUS Data Centres, to discuss David’s career, how to attract new talent to the sector, and what the future holds for the industry.

David shares his thoughts on the impact the increased demand for AI is having on data centres, and how those data centres could benefit local communities through shared infrastructure, such as local heat networks. The pair discuss the importance of collaboration between digital infrastructure businesses and government, and how any legislation coming in needs to be a collective, informed decision.

David also tells Mark about VIRTUS’s mentality when it comes to retaining staff, as well as how best to highlight the benefits of working in the sector to the next generation of workers.

For the latest instalment of the DDI Podcast, Mark welcomes Abhishek Dhingra, Global Director of Strategic Partnerships, Shell Energy Renewables and Industry Decarbonisation. The pair discuss Abhishek’s 15-year career with Shell Energy, the need for digital transformation and energy transition to solve some of the world’s energy challenges, and how collaboration is allowing renewable energy sources and data centres to be built much quicker.

Abhishek shares how Shell Energy are helping tech companies across numerous industries decarbonise their operations and supply chain, as well as producing liquid cooling solutions to keep up with the heat produced by GPUs.

Mark and Abhishek take a look to the next generation, with Abhishek offering his advice to those wanting to pursue a career in the digital infrastructure sector, as well as contemplating what the future of the industry itself may look like.

In this episode of the DDI Podcast, Mark welcomes Dame Dawn Childs, CEO of Pure Data Centres group. The pair discuss Dawn’s journey to date, how collaboration is key, and the “wicked problem” the industry is currently facing.

Dawn shares her thoughts on the current skills shortage, emphasising the importance of explaining the industry better to the public, and how you don’t need specialist training to work within the sector.

In the latest episode of the DDI Podcast, Mark is joined by Osama Bakhet, Vice President of Global Utilities at Yondr Group – a global provider of hyperscale data centres – to discuss the future of the digital infrastructure industry, and best practices to encourage future talent to choose the sector for a career.

Mark and Osama speak about the power of the ecosystem and collaboration within the industry, and how it can lead to growth and a happier consumer.

Osama shares his thoughts on how early education, and an understanding of what the next generation already knows about the industry, can inspire innovation.

In the latest episode of the DDI Podcast, Middlesex University student Madison Clements discusses why she’s chosen the data centre industry for her future career, where she believes the industry is failing when it comes to recruitment, and what steps can be taken to attract new talent from an early age.

Madison shares her perspective of the data centre industry as an outsider; both as someone looking to get a job in the sector, and from a Gen Z point of view, before giving her honest (and frank) review of how Schneider Electric looks to the next generation of digital infrastructure professionals.

Kicking off Season three of the DDI podcast, Mark Yeeles discusses with Mark Bjornsgaard, CEO and founder of Deep Green Technologies, how heat can be recaptured from distributed edge micro data centres for social good, for free.

He outlines Deep Green’s growing deployment of data furnace technology into sites which require hot water, such as swimming pools, building vital compute infrastructure whilst providing significant additional, quantifiable ESG benefits.

Mark explains how Octopus Energy’s £200m stake in the firm will further the adoption of Deep Green’s recaptured heat technology across the UK.

In the final episode of this series of the DDI Podcast, Mark Yeeles, Vice President for Schneider Electric’s Secure Power Division in the UK and Ireland steps away from the usual format to bring you a compelling panel discussion from Data Centre World 2024 in London.

Featuring prominent industry experts, they delve into reshaping the narrative, transforming the perception from 'Toxic Dumps' to 'Essential Players in the Fight Against Climate Change', and spearheading discussions on Environmental, Social, and Governance focal points.

Hear why this transformation is vital in addressing skills shortages and shaping the sector into an appealing and sustainable career path for existing & future talent.