Why do we need data centres?
Over the past decade there has been a move within the IT sector towards virtualisation. Applications like Microsoft Office are no longer provided on disks for a user to install it on their own computer: the application is provided as a service with a monthly fee. Cloud services are widely used; new applications like ‘Zoom’ are built on the same cloud platforms.
All of these illustrate a movement towards concentrating services in data centres where virtualisation technology makes complicated services highly cost effective, and practical to manage.
Businesses, Government and third sector organisations all use these service, however very little of it is actually hosted in Wales. The data centres are invariably elsewhere in the UK, or overseas. The implications of this are significant.
Currently the emphasis of much of Welsh Government policy on IT revolves around the lack of broadband coverage in Wales. This is admirable, and certainly an issue worthy of pursuit.
However, broadband and mobile technologies like ‘5G’ are ‘last mile’ technologies that connect users to the internet. By concentrating on these, important technologies like cloud computing based in data centres are neglected. Welsh businesses and government agencies already spend substantially on services like cloud computing and hosting, but the vast majority of this business goes to data centres in England or overseas.
Wales can in fact easily build IT services within the country, thus ensuring that money that would leave the economy stays at home.
Furthermore, larger data centres attract business from global multinationals. Wales has much to offer as a location for data centres; the new Vantage data centre in Newport is built on what will be the largest data centre campus in Europe. The success of this data centre illustrates how Wales can compete on the global stage.
Encouraging IT enterprise in Wales builds highly paid jobs, allows Wales to attract business, and creates a platform on which many social and economic initiatives can be supported.
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