35 sourcing options , shortened supply chains , and access to technical and support information .
INTERVIEW
35 sourcing options , shortened supply chains , and access to technical and support information .
Where do you see the data centre industry heading
3 in the future ? I think that regionalisation , or localisation , of DC facilities will accelerate as security requirements move even further ahead of other considerations , and are driven by government legislation and sector specific requirements around data management . It remains to be seen how Brexit will affect the UK industry in this regards . The planned introduction of 5G will lead service providers to invest in edge facilities in volume . And in terms of infrastructure within the data centre we see density and speed of implementation as key purchasing decisions , so expect further development of preconfigured , modular solutions . Finally I think the open compute project has the potential to revolutionise the design and vendor mix of the data centre – this is proven technology in the hyperscale market , and it ’ s only a matter of time before it proves a viable and extremely cost-effective option for the wider market .
What will be the market drivers for the future ?
4
End user demand for information and data to enable business decisions , improve services and reduce costs will lead to more devices being connected to one another . This will be within buildings as management systems incorporate services such a lighting and environmental control , and extend across cities with the introduction of systems such as intelligent traffic management and internet enabled vehicles . In turn this will lead to exponential growth in the sheer volume of data to be managed , stored and analysed , leading to ongoing growth in the data centre market , with a rapid uptake of Artificial Intelligence to ‘ make sense of it all ’. through to our preference of converged . But however you look at it the speed at which IP enabled devices have become the norm in so many areas of products / systems provided to users by our industry , the rate of change is nothing short of phenomenal . This has led to distributors and installers developing solutions and integration skills through pre-sales , design and implementation to meet customer demands for these IP-based systems across all verticals .
What are the main challenges for your sector ?
2
There are many , but to mention a couple I would say keeping staff up to date with emerging and changing technologies is a must , but difficult at times due to time and day-to-day business pressures . Margin pressure / retention , prices for products and services remain deflated since the recession . And a saturated supply chain in certain sectors has led to the commodification of products and , a lack of opportunity to obtain value for features and benefits offered . I believe that looking ahead , digitisation could lead to a flattening of the market in some areas through increasing
Should data centre industry companies specialise
5 or diversify ? I am not sure if future strategies should be based on specialisation or diversification – I believe agility is the key skill the industry will require in the future . To some , diversification means becoming more of a generalist and specialisation a lack of flexibility . I am not sure these rather dated models will appeal to what the customers of tomorrow will demand . If not , expect service providers to be proactive , adaptable and fast to meet their business , client and staff requirements . Change is the only constant in a competitive market , which means suppliers have to be always be thinking ‘ what ’ s next ’, and trying to predict customer needs . They can then develop products and services that meet them as they emerge .
With 100 years behind you , what lies ahead for
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Mayflex ? Our overarching strategy in terms of the markets we serve remains valid and full of growth opportunities . We will continue to develop our Excel brand of copper , fibre , and rack solutions both in terms of range , vertical market , geographical presence , and we will complement this with the introduction of IP enabled devices within and in addition to our current areas of expertise . So in many ways ‘ business as usual ’, where we say change coming is in the way our customers choose to communicate , purchase and generally engage with us . We will focus on this by creating a truly omnichannel experience where options for face to face , phone , email , app and Internet based options are made readily available in an easy to access , easy to use , efficient and cost effective manner . n
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