Michael Bird

Very good question.

And I guess the interesting thing about data centers is that, you know, sort of viewed more and more as national critical infrastructure.

So from an energy perspective, is keeping data centers powered similar to keeping up our comms networks and hospitals and things like that?

Okay, so that leads quite nicely onto energy sovereignty, because different countries get their energy from different locations.

Can you define what we mean by sovereignty?

Would organizations generate their energy that's not connected to the grid, particularly from that sovereignty perspective?

Because of course, a generator isn't necessarily a long-term solution.

It's designed as a temporary solution.

You still have to feed it oil or whatever it is that powers it.

But presumably a solar and batteries, that could be a viable solution depending on where you are in the world.

Probably in the UK, not so much, but in countries with maybe more reliable sunlight, that could be like the primary source of energy and then maybe using the grid as like a backup.

Are you seeing organizations doing that?

It's not necessarily feasible to spin up a gas power station for every organization, but most organizations can, as you said, put solar panels on their roof and maybe even be able to put a wind turbine in their car park or whatever.

But is the answer just more efficient IT?

Because it feels like processes have got more efficient.

Batteries last longer on laptops and on phones.

We have a certain pool of energy.

Just use less of it.

So what are some ways that organizations could use the energy that they have more efficiently?

So thinking about businesses and organizations and governments and us as citizens, like whose responsibility is power usage?