In an interview at ADAPT’s Cloud & Infrastructure Edge, Matt Gurr, ANZ Market Director, High Tech at AECOM, outlined the escalating challenges facing the data centre industry.

Matt oversees AECOM’s data centre infrastructure across Australia and the APAC region.

His role involves managing the development and expansion of physical infrastructure for co-location providers and hyperscalers, addressing the increased demand driven by the rapid growth of data and AI technologies.

This expansion demands substantial scaling of data centre capacities, often involving large investments in new facilities.

 

Powering Up

The surge in AI and data consumption is escalating power requirements, with data centres now needing up to 500 megawatts of capacity.

As cooling demands rise, traditional water cooling methods are facing constraints due to limited water supplies, leading to increased interest in air-cooled systems despite their higher power consumption.

 

The Sustainability Challenge

The shift towards more sustainable practices, such as the use of low-carbon materials and air-cooled chillers, will likely result in higher costs for data centres, which may be passed on to customers.

 

Future-Proofing Data Centres

Looking ahead, the data centre industry will need to adapt to evolving technologies and sustainability requirements.

With a notable number of data centres approaching 10 to 15 years old, there will be a focus on repurposing and upgrading existing facilities to meet new demands.

Additionally, the industry must navigate the challenges of integrating emerging technologies like quantum computing and advanced cooling methods, all while managing the balance between cost and environmental impact.

 

Key Takeaways:

  • Increasing power and cooling needs: The rapid growth of AI and data consumption is driving a substantial increase in power and cooling requirements for data centres, leading to the need for larger facilities and more efficient cooling technologies.
  • Sustainability challenges: Traditional water cooling methods are becoming unsustainable due to water supply constraints, pushing the industry towards air-cooled systems and other sustainable practices, which could lead to higher operational costs.
  • Future adaptation and repurposing: As data centres age and new technologies emerge, the focus will shift towards repurposing and upgrading existing facilities to handle evolving demands, with an emphasis on adapting to advancements such as quantum computing and improved cooling solutions.
Contributors
Matt Gurr ANZ Market Director, High Tech at AECOM
With a deep passion for transforming datacentres into a sustainable and societally respected industry while maintaining their viability as high performing financial... More

With a deep passion for transforming datacentres into a sustainable and societally respected industry while maintaining their viability as high performing financial organisations. Matt is keen advocate of the need to bring broad diversity to find new and innovative ways to address the burning problems that we are facing as an industry.

He is a collaborative design leader with over 20 years working in the built environment and mission critical fields. From his initial roles with the Ministry of Defence in the UK, he is now based in Sydney, where he specialises in the design and development of Data Centre facilities, bringing his skills in mission critical environments to organisations requiring high levels of uptime and reliability.

Career highlights include working with major international organisations including NEXTDC, Global Switch, Equinix, IBM, Telstra, Metronode, Woolworths and ANZ.

How can people in the data centre actually improve operational performance?
Read Aurecon’s article on creating a data centre environment that support employee productivity. It features our very own Senior Director of Advisory Services Anthony Saba sitting down with Technical Director Matt Gurr at Connected Cloud & DC Edge.

Less
Gabby Fredkin Head of Analytics & Insights at ADAPT
Gabby’s primary role is managing analysis to produce ADAPT’s actionable insights. He has extensive experience in using data to identify technology trends... More

Gabby’s primary role is managing analysis to produce ADAPT’s actionable insights. He has extensive experience in using data to identify technology trends to support Australian organisations.​

Using modern data science techniques, he provides ADAPT and its customers with confidence in the accuracy and validity of the information used for ADAPT’s research, advisory and events.​

With a passion for creating stories with data, Gabby is consistently rated as one of the top speakers at ADAPT’s events. In roundtable discussions, he specialises in using statistics to initiate thought-provoking discussions. ​

Gabby is effective in translating information into insights, enabling ADAPT’s customers to become more data-driven.​

Gabby’s primary areas of expertise are:​

  • Advanced AI and ML practices, including AI ethics.​
  • Building models to benchmark and predict IT performance.​
  • End-user behaviour and human-centred design.​
  • Cross-functional team design and value, such as DevSecOps.​
Less
data cloud investments