- Half of Britons are not even familiar with data centres, the report shows
- Three out of five know that they play a role in hybrid work
- Continuing education can increase public confidence in data centers
Despite efforts to drive the country’s artificial intelligence capabilities, new research from Telehouse has revealed that more than half (51%) of Britons are not even familiar with the term ‘data centre’.
Even the people who have heard of data centers are not necessarily aware of the role they play in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and even cloud storage.
Two in three (67%) do not understand the role data centers play, and two in five (42%) are unaware of the scale of people, applications and data supported by such campuses.
UK citizens do not have control over data centres
The trend paints a worrying picture for Britain’s intentions to become an AI leader – Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wants to make the UK a global leader in artificial intelligence.
By 2024, data centers were classified as Critical National Infrastructure, giving them extra protection and monitoring, and recent years have seen an increase in government focus on data centers, coinciding with AI investment and other plans to expand digital infrastructure. Deputy First Minister Angela Rayner recently approved a £670m data center project in Buckinghamshire, which will take land on a green belt.
But while two in three (59%) of the 2,000 UK consumers surveyed acknowledged that data centers are important for remote work, 19% are unsure how the facilities actually support their remote work.
“We recognize that there is a significant knowledge gap regarding data centers and their impact on digital lives,” noted Telehouse Europe EVP and GM Mark Pestridge.
Pestridge hopes that education around data centers will bridge the knowledge gap and therefore increase public confidence in digital infrastructure.
