Summary
12 September 2024 was an important milestone for the UK’s digital future as the UK government has officially designated data centres, which store a substantial portion of the nation’s data, as ‘Critical National Infrastructure’.
Designation of data centres as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)
This is a significant decision which acknowledges the key role and fundamental importance that data centres now play in today’s digital economy and modern-day life where the use of AI is growing exponentially. Data centres are the central nervous system of modern society and play a crucial role in everything from drug discovery, business operations, essential cloud services, patients NHS records, climate monitoring, social media platforms and more.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle stated: “Data centres are the engines of modern-life, they power the digital economy and keep our most personal information safe. Bringing data centres into the Critical National Infrastructure regime will allow better coordination and cooperation with the government against cyber criminals and unexpected events.”
Whilst awarding critical national infrastructure status will not bring any immediate legislative change, the measures show the UK’s commitment to ensuring that its data industry remains secure, safeguarding it against cyber threats, power outages and adverse weather events and putting data centres on a par with UK’s water, energy and emergency services. It also reinforces the UK as an attractive destination for tech companies, cloud providers, and AI developers, seeking reliable and secure infrastructure for their operations.
We’ve seen recent financial pledges from tech giants who are committed to expand their cloud and data infrastructure in the UK and the Government’s decision to upgrade data centres to CNI status is likely to spur further investment in the sector, both from domestic and international players. London is of course a vital location in the global data centre market with its strategic position and connectivity, but the hope is that the new decision will also have a positive impact on regional data centre development. With increasing regulatory support and a focus on security, cities outside London, such as Manchester and Birmingham as well as other areas of the UK, including Scotland and Wales, are likely to see more investment in digital infrastructure, driving regional economic growth and job creation.
The UK is currently home to the highest number of data centres in Western Europe. As digital transformation continues to drive economic growth, the UK’s focus on secure and resilient data infrastructure will be a key factor in attracting future tech investment and help the UK top the global leagues for data security.
This is clearly a strong sign of things to come in the data centre industry both in the UK and internationally.
Social Media cookies collect information about you sharing information from our website via social media tools, or analytics to understand your browsing between social media tools or our Social Media campaigns and our own websites. We do this to optimise the mix of channels to provide you with our content. Details concerning the tools in use are in our Privacy Notice.