In a lively and wide-ranging panel discussion at Datacloud Global Congress 2025, chaired by Scott Roots, sales director EMEA at DC Byte, five industry leaders debated whether the sector is breaking its reliance on legacy availability zones and how evolving market forces are reshaping site selection strategies.
“Historically, most hyperscale infrastructure has centred around five city locations,” said Roots, referencing the traditional FLAP-D markets. “But as power, land, and fibre become scarcer and planning frameworks lag behind demand, site selection is evolving.”
Doug Loewe, CEO of Kao Data, offered a sobering reminder of the inertia that surrounds legacy zones. “To move into a new availability zone is extremely risky,” he said.
“The first person to cross the bridge pays for the bridge.” He highlighted the importance of existing capital investments in fibre, talent, and infrastructure that make legacy zones hard to abandon.
That said, change is coming. “Slough is saturated,” Loewe continued, “and hyperscalers are now recognising East London as a new availability zone — but only after extensive research and validation.”
Russell Poole, CEO of Apto, noted a shift from mere expansion to necessity. “We’re getting to a point where availability of power or land in saturated markets simply isn’t there anymore,” he said. “Yes, it’s expensive and risky to pioneer new areas — but it’s becoming essential.”
Melanie Kiely, head of global site selection at Oracle, provided the hyperscaler perspective. “Speed to market and access to power are driving our decisions. If a data centre operator already has capacity available, that’s incredibly appealing,” she said. While Oracle still values traditional locations, new demands — particularly from AI workloads — are prompting the company to consider more remote options.
Thierry Chamayou, VP of cloud and service providers at Schneider Electric, highlighted that shifting strategies are creating new economic hotspots.
“We’re seeing a reset,” he said. “The Nordics, Iberia, and even France — the so-called sleeping giant — are coming into play because of energy surplus and infrastructure readiness.”
For Ruben Garcia, data centre sales director at Rittal, this shift is tangible. “Five years ago, one megawatt in southern Europe was considered large,” he said. “Now we’re selling 30–50MW every few weeks. Madrid, Milan, Athens — these places are becoming real centres of gravity.”
This geographic diversification is also being driven by technology. As workloads become denser, cooling requirements more complex, and AI deployments more sudden and power-hungry, flexibility is key.
“You have to design for optionality,” said Poole. “We’re entering a hybrid era. Some loads still use air cooling, but others absolutely require liquid cooling. That changes the infrastructure conversation entirely.”
Kiely elaborated on the diversity of customer demands: “We’re seeing a mix — traditional cloud still needs air cooling, but multi-cloud and AI deployments increasingly require liquid cooling and higher density support. And they come fast — there’s little time to plan.”
Loewe introduced a now-crucial term: fungibility. “Operators want to ensure that a facility can support multiple workload types,” he explained. “It’s about de-risking investments while maximising utility and scale.”
Environmental considerations are also pushing innovation. As Poole noted, “Heat reuse becomes more viable with liquid cooling, and designing for high-grade heat recovery is now part of responsible engineering.”
Looking ahead, the panel discussed the prospects for emerging availability zones. Loewe mentioned Edinburgh and Manchester as UK contenders — but warned of energy pricing barriers. “UK power costs are prohibitive,” he said. “If the UK is to compete globally in AI, it must lower energy prices and decouple costs from national transport subsidies.”
Government policy emerged as a critical factor. Chamayou pointed to Spain, where the Aragon region is outpacing Madrid due to more favourable regulatory conditions. “You need support at every level — from land acquisition to power access — and local governments need to streamline processes,” he said.
Poole and Loewe echoed these concerns. “In France, we’ve seen projects stalled for years due to bureaucratic inertia,” said Chamayou. “You can’t promise jobs and investment if you can’t even get a permit.”
Despite the challenges, the mood on stage remained cautiously optimistic. The industry, the panellists agreed, is at a turning point — driven by technological evolution, geographic diversification, and the relentless pressure of AI demand.
“We’re ready for new, exciting availability zones,” said Roots in closing. “But success will depend on bold thinking, smarter planning, and deeper collaboration between operators, hyperscalers, governments, and suppliers.”
RELATED STORIES
