Data, Infrastructure and Sustainability Summit UK
2025 Agenda
Tuesday, October 14
Artificial Intelligence is fundamentally transforming IT infrastructure, fuelling a higher demand for compute power and a surge in AI workloads, necessitating significant scaling of cloud services and private networks to handle vast amounts of data. This opening panel session will dive into how CIOs are reimagining their tech frameworks to manage unprecedented data demands and dealing with legacy infrastructure in the process – both effectively and sustainably. Expect candid insights, practical strategies and the diverse paths to navigating this evolving technological landscape – at speed.
– How can CIOs and technology leaders rise to the challenge and shape the future of critical infrastructure in the AI era?
– How to best assess the development of next-generation infrastructure to support these demands?
– Going beyond cost savings and efficiency: how are you making your organisation smarter, faster and safer as you scale to meet the demands of AI?
With decisions on energy consumption, space utilisation, raw material use and infrastructure investment now impacting both business performance and environmental outcomes – how do you design and scale the digital foundations of tomorrow’s economy in a sustainable way?
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Data management is no longer a backend operation. It has become a strategic cornerstone for shaping innovation, efficiency and compliance.
As enterprises scale their digital transformation journeys, CIOs face the dual challenge of managing vast, complex datasets whilst maintaining agility, security and good governance. Join this opening panel session to hear comprehensive strategies for robust data management, effective governance frameworks and the ethical handling of data to balance the speed of innovation with accountability.
– Comprehensive data management strategies: what adaptive solutions are needed to ensure data integrity, accessibility and security in a data-driven world?
– Ethical AI governance: with the evolution of cloud-first strategies, real-time integration and AI-driven automation, how are CIOs overcoming heightened concerns over data privacy, data ethics and regulatory compliance?
– Scalability and flexibility: how can IT leaders design scalable and flexible infrastructure to handle growing data volumes from diverse sources?
– Performance optimisation: how can technologies like in-memory databases, edge computing, distributed computing to support real-time analytics be used to drive meaningful insights?
– Modernisation and Innovations: As data continues to shape the future, how can we leverage technology advancements to enhance scalability and ensure compliance?
Pure Storage
The integration of AI and cloud services has led to rising costs – or “cloud-flation.” These unanticipated expenses are straining IT budgets, making it imperative for CIOs to implement robust cost management strategies. Join this panel session to dive into monitoring cloud usage, optimising resource allocation and strategies to negotiate favourable terms with service providers. This session breaks it down to ensure your cloud investments drive real business value through smarter decision-making.
– With spending on the Cloud higher than CIO projections, how can you streamline, simplify and align the company’s cloud-based workloads, data and analytics to optimise like a technology organisation?
– How is AI altering the cloud economics equation and what can IT leaders do to sharpen their cloud strategies and integrate tools to monitor and manage costs?
– How to navigate tough conversations both internally and with vendors to streamline usage, account for legacy structures and plan for flexibility?
– Avoiding vendor lock-ins, regular auditing to uncover hidden costs and insights to adapt cloud strategies in real-time, reducing the risk of unnecessary expenses or reliance on inflexible services
With global power demand from data centres set to increase by as much as 165% by 2030, compared with 2023 (Goldman Sachs Research) and energy usage now being a top concern for 53.5% of business leaders (Seagate) – how can technology leaders drive energy efficiency measures through optimising data centre resources?
What can be done to adopt energy efficient technologies and practices as well as investments in green data centres that use renewable energy?
And why location to renewable energy sources should be a key consideration when planning new data centre deployments. Hear first-hand insights from an IT leader who has walked the walk to balance performance needs with environmental responsibilities. Stay one step ahead, as the long-term ROI of adopting energy-efficient solutions becomes harder to ignore.
Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI reportedly consumed 185,000 gallons of water during the training of GPT-3. With AI driving an increase in data centre demand, water usage in data centres is a growing concern for CIOs, with its importance in cooling systems that regulate the heat generated by servers.
Attend this session to hear what strategies and water-efficient cooling technologies are being implemented by one such leader and the key considerations when selecting data centre locations, influencing both design and long-term operational viability.
This series of interactive roundtable discussions offers a unique opportunity for technology leaders to connect, share insights, and tackle today’s biggest challenges together. Each table will focus on a key theme shaping data, infrastructure and sustainability, allowing participants to exchange strategies, discuss real-world experiences, and gain fresh perspectives from peers facing similar opportunities and obstacles.
AI-Driven IT Infrastructure: How to Reimagine Your Tech Frameworks
How can CIOs and technology leaders shape the future of critical infrastructure in the AI era?
Data Management: Shaping Innovation, Efficiency and Compliance
Explore how to manage vast, complex datasets whilst maintaining agility, security and good governance
Cybersecurity in a New Age: How is AI being used for robust security measures?
Addressing new threats, evolving compliance requirements, and building resilience against emerging risks using AI
Cloud-flation: Implementing Robust Cloud Cost Management Strategies
Strategies to ensure your cloud investments drive real business value through smarter decision-making
Energy Efficiency and Water Usage in Data Centres: Balancing Performance Needs with Environmental Impact
Stay one step ahead, as the long-term ROI of adopting energy and water-efficient solutions becomes harder to ignore
Sustainability & the IT Tech Stack: More Than Just Greenwashing
How to integrate ESG objectives as you modernise the tech stack without sacrificing innovation, efficiency, or profitability
Sustainable IT Asset Lifecycle Management: An Opportunity to Optimise on Cost and ESG
Hear practical strategies for IT asset lifecycle management to stay ahead of emerging ESG and cost challenges in a rapidly evolving tech landscape
Tech Talent & Digital Skills: Bridging the Workforce Gap for AI and Cloud Technologies
Sharing best practices for upskilling teams to innovate within these new domains and building a future-ready workforce
AI: How Can we Leverage it to Solve Data Management and IT Infrastructure Challenges?
A candid discussion on AI adoption, governance, and real-world applications that deliver measurable impact within IT
Data Driven Sustainability: Delivering Credible ESG Metrics Around IT
Explore how to use data analytics to track and reduce your carbon footprints, enhance resource efficiency and support sustainability goals
With efforts in AI, cloud and emerging technologies hinged on a skilled and adaptable workforce, how are IT leaders prioritising building a future-ready workforce?
This session will explore how technology leaders can drive workforce development, bridge the skills gap, and adapt to evolving demands to equip their teams with the necessary skills to manage and innovate within these domains.
With addressing the skills gap becoming critical for maintaining a competitive edge and ensuring the successful implementation of new technologies – hear how CIOs can manage the human dimension to shape tomorrow’s workforce
CIOs are using AI to improve operations, boost productivity, lower costs, improve customer experience and foster innovation. But how can IT leaders strategically leverage AI to enhance IT infrastructure planning and operations, to manage data better, automate internal processes and creating efficiencies?
Join this session to hear strategies for measuring and optimising AI-enabled IT applications, how its reshaping operations and decision making, making it a key driver in IT business success. Expect candid insights, practical strategies, and maybe even a little AI myth-busting along the way!
Sustainability is no longer a side initiative—it’s a core part of digital strategy. By 2027, 65% of CIOs will be tasked with embedding ESG objectives into technology projects, shaping the future of responsible innovation (IDC).
Modernising tech stacks is essential for achieving these sustainability goals, including adopting energy-efficient hardware, leveraging virtualisation to reduce physical server needs and implementing software solutions that optimise resource usage. Join this session to hear how one CIO is on the journey of assessing their current infrastructure, identifying areas where sustainable technologies can be integrated to reduce their environmental footprint. One green step at a time!
As CIOs strive to align digital infrastructure with ESG goals, sustainable asset lifecycle management becomes critical. A fundamental shift is taking place in how we think about data infrastructure – not as a trade-off between cost and sustainability, but as an opportunity to optimise for both. So how should you evaluate the environmental impact of your IT hardware, data centres and infrastructure?
Join this session to walk-through the journey, from procurement and deployment to maintenance, reuse, circularity and end-of-life disposal. At a time where data centres are becoming one of the most energy-intensive sectors in the digital economy, hear practical strategies to stay ahead of emerging ESG and cost challenges in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.
IT Leaders are well aware that achieving sustainability goals requires collaboration across internal departments, external partners and the need for industry-wide accountability. With Initiatives like the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, which aims for climate neutrality by 2030, exemplifying the importance of collective action, what strategies are working to foster partnerships and encourage cross-functional teams to work together towards shared sustainability objectives?
This session will discuss strategies to get buy-in and share accountability across the ecosystem to achieve meaningful emissions reduction – across Scopes 1, 2, and 3. How collaboration across the entire value chain, including vendors, suppliers and cloud service providers could ensure that the growth of AI and data centre operations does not come at the expense of the environment. Get ready for a fresh perspective and a call to action for the future!
With rising investor and regulatory scrutiny, CIOs are being asked to deliver credible ESG metrics around IT – but is it that simple to calculate the carbon footprint in complex processes? How can you find it when you use multiple providers across several regions?
This session will delve in to the tools and standards for IT-specific carbon accounting (Scope 2/3 emissions); how to best align with the UK Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework; how to integrate emissions data from cloud providers, colocation vendors, and internal systems; and embed ESG metrics into IT governance and performance KPIs. Hear how to use data driven sustainability and include carbon accounting into IT decision-making.
Many enterprise CIOsareseeking out the ideal platforms for various applicationsas they relook to manage workloadsand place them on the right infrastructure in the age of AI–whether that’s in a private cloud, an industry cloud, within their own datacentres, through a managed service provider, on the edge, or orchestrated in a multi-cloud architecture.
Withdecisionslargely drivenby the need to maximise performancewith scalable and flexible infrastructure,while not losing track of costs, how do you navigatethis landscape to right-size for your business?Join this closing panel session to hearcandidinsightintodecision making, what worked,whatdidn’tandhow to pick the right partner!
- How are you deciding on workloads and what should be outsourced, what should remain on-premise cloud, hybrid cloud architectures, edge computing? Performance, cost, corporate governance policies?
- To optimise like a technology organisation, should you externalise or build internal capabilities?
- How are you “getting more nuanced” with your cloud use and strategies in the effort to balance performance, costs, and security?
- How are you designing scalable and flexible infrastructures to handle growing data volumes and diverse sources?
- How are you reducing cost overruns, containing cloud chaos and ensuring adequate funding for generative AI projects through rightsizing?
- How do your pick your partners of choice, negotiate favourable terms, measure performance AND ensure sustainable practices?
