Digital Infrastructure Industry Expert Maya Glick has two decades in the digital infrastructure and telecommunications game.
In practice, this has meant selling and providing networking, internet, and data center solutions to global corporations and telecom operators. Her path includes strategic planning, business plan preparation, implementation, and operation of major cable projects.
As a business development professional, she's seen every aspect of the sales cycle in international markets. And she's gleaned a thing or two about the partnerships and collaborations vital to digital transformation.
As the latest addition to TeleGeography's roster of Preferred Partners, Maya was kind enough to chat with the TeleGeography team about what she's seeing in the industry—and what brought her to this moment in her career. Read our full conversation below.
As someone with a focus on interconnectivity, what headlines best summarize what's happening in your industry?
The telecom and digital infrastructure industry is navigating a fascinating period of transition and opportunity. One major development is that Artificial intelligence (AI) has truly come of age: once the domain of research labs and non-profit endeavors, AI now serves as a key driver of corporate growth. Companies around the globe are making serious investments in AI, expecting a clear return on their investment and harnessing its potential to transform everything from customer service to predictive analytics.
With AI’s rise, however, comes a growing trust dilemma. People are asking hard questions: how do we ensure that AI systems are not only effective but also ethical, unbiased, and safe from malicious use? Building trustworthy, transparent AI solutions is rapidly becoming a top priority for both providers and end-users.
With AI’s rise, however, comes a growing trust dilemma. People are asking hard questions: how do we ensure that AI systems are not only effective but also ethical, unbiased, and safe from malicious use? Building trustworthy, transparent AI solutions is rapidly becoming a top priority for both providers and end-users.
Meanwhile, the surging energy demands of AI are placing data centers under intense pressure. As these facilities scramble to handle ever-increasing computing requirements, many are reevaluating their approach to sustainability. This “energy arms race” is spurring the adoption of greener practices and renewable energy sources, reflecting an industry-wide push to reduce environmental footprints.
Beyond the data center, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are reshaping global connectivity by promising broader coverage and challenging traditional telecom networks. Yet, this progress must be balanced against worries about space debris and the long-term health of our orbital environment. As more constellations launch, we’re faced with the question of how to maintain space sustainability while expanding coverage to underserved regions.
Finally, there’s a clear shift toward multi-cloud strategies within enterprises. Instead of betting on a single provider, organizations now mix and match cloud platforms. This approach helps them avoid vendor lock-in, optimize costs, and tap into specialized services from different providers—all of which lead to a more dynamic and competitive cloud landscape.
Together, these five trends—AI maturation, AI trustworthiness, sustainability in data centers, the rise of LEO satellites, and multi-cloud adoption—highlight the industry’s drive toward innovation, efficiency, and global connectivity. It’s an exciting time to be at the forefront of telecom and digital infrastructure.
On a similar note, TeleGeography's Market Connectivity Score has given us a lot to think about regarding the world's most connected and fast-growing hubs. Are there any emerging hubs that have your attention? Why?
We are witnessing a remarkable shift in Europe’s connectivity landscape. Historically, the major data center hubs—Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, and Paris (FLAP)—dominated the scene. Now, new interconnection hubs are emerging throughout Southern Europe—from Marseille and Barcelona to Genoa, Athens, Portugal, and Crete. These locations are leveraging expanding fiber networks, strategic submarine cable routes, and government support to carve out a role as vital converging points for network interconnection, linking multiple continents.
This expansion goes hand in hand with the drive for route diversity, as today’s enterprises increasingly insist on multiple geographically distinct paths to ensure high availability. Alongside these Southern European hubs, there is growing interest in an Eastern Mediterranean gateway that helps bridge Middle Eastern and Western European networks. Such positioning offers low-latency access to key markets and a strong alternative path for organizations looking to broaden their reach and mitigate risk.
In this way, Southern Europe and its neighboring routes are reshaping the connectivity map, creating fresh competition for Europe’s traditional data center giants and offering new opportunities for seamless communication and data exchange.
Tell us about your early experiences working in international networks. How did those opportunities grow your understanding of the telecom landscape?
I stepped into the telecom world in the late 90s—a pivotal era marked by the privatization of Israel’s telecommunications sector and the global dot-com boom. My first role was as a junior commercial coordinator, overseeing international submarine and terrestrial routes (IRUs and DDPs) and handling network planning and agreements. Back then, it felt almost futuristic to have a 45Mbps international internet connection funneled through a satellite antenna perched on our office rooftop—yet it’s stunning to see how far we’ve come since those days.
In the early 2000s, I had the opportunity to help establish key points of presence in major markets such as London, Frankfurt, and New York, which was instrumental in expanding our voice, data, and IP services.
Beyond these global expansions, I also had a hand in building physical cross-border links to our neighboring countries in the Middle East. This meant forging partnerships with regional telecom companies to create new fiber routes and collaborative projects.
Working on these projects gave me a front-row seat to the fast-paced evolution of global connectivity—and it became crystal clear that robust international networks are what truly propel business growth and innovation across borders.
What experiences best prepared you to thrive in this industry?
Early on, I found myself immersed in commercial coordination for international routes, and every project opened the door to new challenges—managing procurement, overseeing contracts, and sharpening my negotiation skills. Step by step, these responsibilities built upon one another, preparing me to navigate the complexities of global telecom operations. Eventually, that evolution led me to the forefront of projects of national significance, such as developing submarine cable infrastructure linking Israel and Europe—an opportunity that truly showcased the power of collaboration, strategic planning, and global connectivity.
Thriving in telecom means understanding both the technological aspects and the human side of the business, where forging lasting partnerships can make all the difference.
Working closely with peers from different countries taught me the importance of relationship-building, cultural awareness, and mutual trust to get large-scale connectivity projects off the ground. Thriving in telecom means understanding both the technological aspects and the human side of the business, where forging lasting partnerships can make all the difference.
What new technologies are most exciting to you as a person who works in the cloud computing space?
I’m seeing several technologies reshape cloud computing right now. AI and machine learning top the list of course, since they’re driving the need for specialized data centers with advanced cooling solutions, all while charging the growth of AI itself. It’s a loop: AI pushes data centers to be more efficient and secure, and then those optimized data centers help AI take new leaps forward.
I’m seeing several technologies reshape cloud computing right now. AI and machine learning top the list of course, since they’re driving the need for specialized data centers with advanced cooling solutions, all while charging the growth of AI itself. It’s a loop: AI pushes data centers to be more efficient and secure, and then those optimized data centers help AI take new leaps forward.
Meanwhile, edge computing is rising in tandem with 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT). By processing data closer to the users—like on factory floors or in smart cities—we cut down on latency and gain near-instant insights that can be a game-changer for time-critical applications.
Then there’s quantum computing, which might still feel futuristic but has the potential to totally upend how we handle complex problems—from encryption and optimization to next-level machine learning. It's still too early to say when Quantum Computing will become a thing in everyday use, but it's an exciting field with huge potential to change the world.
Finally, photonics brings the promise of using light to transmit data at blistering speeds with far less energy consumption. That alone could overhaul how data centers are built and even change the semiconductor industry as we know it.
On the other side of the coin, what's the single biggest challenge that interconnectivity professionals must grapple with in the year ahead?
The single biggest challenge connectivity professionals are bracing for this year is how to keep networks reliable and stable amid intensifying geopolitical tensions. Whether it’s data center operations or submarine cable routes, we’re seeing an uptick in threats—ranging from potential sabotage to sudden regulatory changes—that can disrupt critical infrastructure with little warning. Balancing cost-effective solutions with the need for robust, diversified routes has never been trickier. The task now is to plan for these uncertainties and invest in protective measures that maintain seamless interconnectivity, no matter what the global landscape throws our way.
TeleGeography's Preferred Partners represent a network of telecom professionals with whom we've collaborated, presented, shared intel, and mapped major networks. This group is available to work on special research projects that require resources beyond TeleGeography's standard product catalog.
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