The Data Centre Exchange Summer 2025
On June 24th, 2025, Lynchpin Media kicked off The Data Centre Exchange – the first in a series – hosted at the prestigious Pan Pacific Hotel in Central London. The event brought together voices from across the data centre and infrastructure sector, including academia, and sought to address the infamous skills shortage.
Central to the discussion was our esteemed panel of speakers: Deborah Andrews, Professor of Design for Sustainability & Circularity at London South Bank University; Dr Umaima Haider, Senior Lecturer at the University of East London; Ben Cranham, COO at Pulsant; Matthew Underhill, Head of Infrastructure at Alfred H Knight; and Sham Sai, Engineering Student at the University of East London.
The evening began with an icebreaker in the form of wine and cheese tasting, followed by a roundtable discussion about the skills shortage where we explored key challenges and ways to combat this widespread issue. Each of our panellists contributed significantly – highlighting the need for other industries to come together as a collective and help to plug the skills gap. They were extremely vocal about the broad scope of career opportunities on offer within this industry.
Another key takeaway from the discussion was the lack of awareness around the sector itself. Deborah raised concern about the fact such a large portion of society don’t know what a data centre is, let alone understand the associated career potential. Our speakers agreed that this lack of exposure – particularly at pre-university level – is a wider systemic issue that needs addressing.
Ben Cranham added that stringent privacy measures within this space could be seen as a roadblock which is limiting public understanding and contributing to the overall issue. While Pulsant offers an apprenticeship programme, Ben pointed out a gap in mid-career opportunities, where transferable skills from sectors such as the armed forces are often overlooked. He believes stronger collaboration and partnerships between data centres and the education sector are needed to improve awareness and build a long-lasting future for the industry.
Following this insightful discussion was a networking evening – where attendees from the wider industry were welcomed with free-flowing cocktails and canapés.
A special thanks to Pulsant for supporting this inaugural event and helping us kick off the Data Centre Exchange series.