Operations | Monitoring | ITSM | DevOps | Cloud

We're taking a look at our clients' journey to a hybrid-cloud architecture, exploring the benefits private cloud boasts over on-premise infrastructure and how this helps an organisation's digital transformation. The adoption of cloud technology is determined by where data originated and is held, and how it is used.

With ten years at Pulsant, Waseem Aslam, Data Centre Manager, has climbed the ranks from engineer to leader, embracing challenges and innovation along the way. In this Q&A, he shares insights into his journey, the supportive Pulsant culture that kept him motivated, and the opportunities that have shaped his career.

As the UK's most geographically diverse digital infrastructure provider, Pulsant champions regional thinking. Every day, there’s a push for technological innovation to go beyond the M25 and drive the brightest businesses nationwide. This has led to our focus on the Northern Powerhouse. We have invested extensively in data centres across Manchester, Rotherham and Newcastle.

The long-awaited cloud services market investigation from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been published and is an important milestone in the evolution of the UK’s digital infrastructure as a whole. For those unaware of the findings, the report was primarily designed to evaluate whether any features of the UK cloud market were impacting competition because of concerns that a lack of competition was pushing up costs and reduced quality of service.

Data sovereignty is now one of the top concerns of those making data centre buying decisions. The principle that data is subject to the laws of the country where it is collected or stored, has been enshrined in two discrete, but connected pieces of legislation: The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018). Whilst both these statutes enforce sovereignty as a minimum, they also cover the use of personal data, including how it is collected, stored, and processed.

As January 2025 draws to a close, the challenges of 2024 still resonate. Last year was exceptionally turbulent for both businesses and individuals, driven in large part by geopolitical tensions, the cost-of-living crisis, and widespread economic uncertainty. According to November ONS figures, 57% of businesses reported experiencing turnover challenges, with 23% citing economic uncertainty as the primary cause.

The Foundations of the Future report commissioned by techUK, and developed by Henham Strategy, makes for incredible reading. As a sector, the UK data centre industry is worth £4.7 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) annually, supporting 43,500 jobs and contributing £640 million in revenue to the exchequer. When you consider that this has happened in less than 35 years, this is remarkable.

Whilst ‘manifest’ bagged the Word of the Year for 2024, the industry could be forgiven for holding out hope that ‘data centre’ might make it for 2025. Following Rachel Reeves’ first speech as Chancellor that held up data centre development as an example of political commitment to economic growth, there has been wave after wave of investment stories, and most-recently an analysis of the potential £44bn that the sector could yield.

Organisations across the globe have shifted to specialist data centres facilities to look after their computing power. But by externalising the work, there is a risk of promoting a mirage that the environmental impact of digital technologies is immaterial. We must be clear; these technologies require valuable physical and energy resources. Collaboration and transparency is needed to manage their effective deployment.

Mike Hoy, CTO, Pulsant looks ahead to the next 12 months, identifying some of the challenges organisations are likely to face in delivering AI projects, and highlighting the importance of a resilient, connected infrastructure in meeting these. As AI proofs of concept evolve over the next 12–18 months, they will lay the groundwork for advances in technology.