Philip Low, Chairman of Platform Markets Group and Managing Director of Headwinds Consultants, has a lot on his plate at the moment.
He's gearing up for a major conference geared at digital infrastructure investors that takes a special interest in decarbonizing the supply chain. And as the Managing Director of Headwind Consultants, he's keeping his ear to the ground on international market entry and related strategies for the digital infrastructure sector. (Famously not a lot going on in that department these days.)
Low recently added yet another feather to his cap, joining TeleGeography's Preferred Partners. This network of telecom professionals represents a deep well of industry knowledge. And the TeleGeography team is thrilled to have such a brilliant group on speed dial to help us take on new and different research projects.
We wanted to introduce our readers to this brilliant lineup of partners. Philip was kind enough to take the plunge first, generously sharing his time to answer a few questions about his career trajectory, what he's hearing from his clients at Headwind Consultants, and what's top-of-mind in the industry. Unsurprisingly, this leads us to AI, energy, and infrastructure investment.
Read our full chat below.
How did you get into the cloud space? Were you always interested in technology and communication? Was it a happy accident?
It was fortuitous, certainly. I had been invited to work on research in the sector and a chance visit a data center in London began the process of establishing a conference for facilities across Europe.
We invented a cloud product (now part of another organization) and it expanded from there globally. Today it’s moved on to AI.
What do you see as the best training ground for becoming an expert in this space?
It would depend on the depth of technical knowledge needed. We have excellent training companies in the UK, for example.
My view is that conferences also serve as an educational opportunity where, if provided with excellently researched content, it invites industry participants to discover knowledge and insight through expert speakers and in high-level networking.
What’s the biggest challenge your clients are facing in 2024?
First and foremost the imperative to decarbonize, now increasingly a regulatory requirement.
It looks like many countries will adopt the principles laid out in European legislation. Many of our clients are private equity firms focused on digital infrastructure and investors want to assure the absence of value erosion through laggard behavior in adopting sustainability across the board.
Fortunately, the data center industry—the other key part of our customer base— is significantly advanced in decarbonizing their businesses and supply chains.
The other big challenge is securing power.
This will become more acute as AI deploys. An evident trend is shifting to secondary market locations effectively new and under-leveraged locations and markets. This expansion has a long way to go and will lead to new points of access to renewable energy.
The other big challenge is securing power.
This will become more acute as AI deploys. An evident trend is shifting to secondary market locations effectively new and under-leveraged locations and markets. This expansion has a long way to go and will lead to new points of access to renewable energy.
What’s the most misunderstood aspect of cloud? Why do you think that is?
Potentially the cost base, which has changed significantly—of course driven by many factors —and the level of security risk now present globally.
These issues are not necessarily cloud-specific, but have manifested themselves as cloud has grown.
Today there remains some misunderstanding about how AI data centers will fundamentally change markets, services, and who provides them.
You have a big Platform Global event coming up in September. (We’ll be there!) What do you think everyone will be talking about in between sessions? What’s going to be the headline on everyone’s mind?
Good question. So many topics to consider and it will be a very exciting time this year in Antibes.
It is inevitable that AI is going to be top of the agenda as it threads through all aspects of the program. Access to capital for expansion, investment in current and new markets, land and real estate, Edge, investment in energy transition and its increasing importance, connectivity as strategic assets—subsea and fiber— and where the market is headed, and impact of macro developments and increasing geopolitical risk.
Nevertheless, we see no letup in investment plans across the whole of EMEA region and I think these messages will come through very strongly at the event.
We have lined up a tremendous speaker academy and our event is probably now perceived as the foremost in content and high-end networking. And. of course, it’s a unique annual opportunity to meet the money behind the infrastructure.
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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