AI Needs Power. PoweringAI Thinks It’s Found It

There’s a quiet truth behind all the AI hype: none of it works without serious power and serious infrastructure. 

And right now, Europe doesn’t have enough of either.

Enter PoweringAI, a new pan-European venture with a simple but ambitious idea: stop waiting for perfect sites, and start transforming the ones we already have.

Launched as a spin-off from advisory firm Xynteo (and backed by Leon Capital), PoweringAI isn’t playing the usual data centre game. 

Instead of battling over scarce land and grid connections, it’s going after overlooked industrial and port sites,  the kind of places that already have the one thing AI desperately needs: power.

And it’s not starting small. The company launches with a hefty 350 MW pipeline (with ambitions pushing closer to 500 MW), positioning itself as a serious contender in Europe’s race to build AI-ready infrastructure.

From Rust to Revenue

PoweringAI’s model is as pragmatic as it is clever: take legacy industrial land, plug it into modern energy systems, and turn it into high-performance compute hubs.

Think less “greenfield dream” and more “industrial reinvention.”

It’s a strategy that ticks multiple boxes:

Brings dormant sites back into productive use

Supports local job creation in post-industrial areas

Speeds up delivery by bypassing land and power bottlenecks

Aligns neatly with Europe’s sustainability and circular economy goals

In short: it’s infrastructure with a second life, and a business case.

Why This Matters Now

AI isn’t slowing down. If anything, demand for compute is accelerating faster than most infrastructure pipelines can keep up.

The real constraint? Not chips. Not software. Not even talent.

Power.

PoweringAI is betting that the winners in the next phase of the AI boom won’t just be the companies building smarter models, but the ones solving the unglamorous, foundational problem of where all that compute actually lives.

A Different Kind of Developer

Backed by Xynteo’s industrial network and over a year of groundwork in site origination and development, PoweringAI is positioning itself at the intersection of three forces:

Energy transition

Industrial regeneration

Digital infrastructure

That’s a crowded Venn diagram, but also where the biggest opportunities tend to sit.

The Bottom Line

While others are still wrestling with planning delays and grid constraints, PoweringAI is effectively saying: the infrastructure we need is already here, we just need to rethink it.

If it delivers, this won’t just be another data centre developer. It could be a blueprint for how Europe powers its AI future, faster, smarter, and with a bit of industrial common sense thrown in.

And in a sector obsessed with the future, that’s a refreshingly grounded place to start.

https://wearepowering.ai

Cloud is on the horizon for SMEs

In our increasingly globalised world, small businesses need an operational communications network to span the geographically spread regions of the company. But the business applications required to achieve this are an costly proposal in our ongoing economic climate. 

This is making it more and more challenging for smaller businesses to contend with large corporations who hold seemingly infinite budgets. But we are now seeing the emergence of multi-tenanted business applications based upon a price-per-user model, or in other words, the Public Cloud. This is allowing youthful organisations to enjoy enterprise level services, security and products, at a fraction of the price.

Now is the time to begin “Thinking Big” – and utilising communications to get there. With Cloud Computing, instead of running Desktops, Applications, Exchange or Voice through physical in-house servers, they are hosted on centralised virtual servers in a data centre. 

This whole procedure is instant to setup and easy to use; you just login, customise and begin. Applications are more scalable, more secure and more reliable as you don’t need a copy of an app for every department using it, just one app which is adaptable enough for everyone to customise for their own particular demands. You can immediately supply applications whenever you need them as the end user directly controls the resources they require. This allows businesses striving to adjust to the pace and dynamism of business today to deploy highly resilient virtual machines for their staff, dawning a new era of flexibility.

Directors are starting to recognise a change in the dynamics of their firms now that staff can be networked more cost-effectively, no matter where in the globe they are. Employees can gain from enhanced mobility with access to their personal desktop user profile from any device – Laptop, Thin Client or iPad – from anywhere in the world within reach of a 3G network. 

This makes it easy to link up individuals and offices in one cohesive, responsive unit in which users share and synchronise emails, diaries and files. Small companies can employ home-based workers, or open small branch offices, or more effectively connect employees on their mobiles to deliver seamless, customer service as easily as a large corporation. Cloud Computing also furthers staff productivity and innovation by allowing for access to the latest technology without the need for any investment in upgrades so small businesses get first class IT on a global scale without having to spend a penny.

IT executives have raised some concerns about the security of their data in the Cloud. But since all data and applications are centralised in a data centre, it is immensely simpler to enable and enforce processes and procedures to ensure security, privacy and other best practices. No data is stored on a device, so you never have to worry about proprietary data coming into the wrong hands if the device itself is lost, stolen or breaks. This is particularly noteworthy with potentially gigabytes of sensitive corporate data sitting on the desk of every member of staff.

But some executives are still hesitant to take the step: their thought is that they would no longer be able to ‘touch and feel’ the systems which drive their business. Alex Parker, CTO of Commensus PLC is not surprised by this reaction, but feels there is sufficient experience of remote working to relieve those concerns. “Data centres have been on the scene for three decades or more: Cloud computing is simply a logical progression of that service. There has been little evidence of businesses experiencing troubles with access to data and with comprehensive service level agreements that specify virtually constant availability, any remaining concerns should be set aside.”

Most businesses are small (over 98% have under 100 employees) and they like it that way: they value the flexibility, responsiveness and customer interaction. It is clearer than ever that the competitiveness of an organisation is now less based on its size than ever before. 

By making effective use of today's communications capabilities, small firms can contend against anyone, anytime, anywhere, of any size. If you think it, you can do it. With the development of cloud technology and the applications and solutions available to small business, the sky really is the limit and size is no longer an issue.

Jack Wilson is the Digital Marketing Manager of Commensus Cloud Computing

Cloud computing expert iomart named as finalist for UK National Business Awards

Cloud computing company iomart named as finalist for UK National Business Awards

iomart Group plc, a top managed hosting and cloud computing services company, has been shortlisted for one of the UK’s most prestigious business awards.

The company is a finalist for the National Business Awards 2011 in partnership with Orange. iomart has been shortlisted in the Santander Small to Medium sized Business of the Year category.

Stephen Dury, Santander Corporate Banking’s Director of Strategy and Market Development, and member of the shortlist panel, said: “iomart is operating in a highly competitive market and has shown the leadership courage required to grow by proving to be capable of expansion through organic business development and acquisition. A great achievement from a dedicated team at iomart.”

iomart was recently named Scottish Digital IT Company of the Year 2011 and is ranked as one of the top 25 cloud services providers in the world by Talkin’ Cloud 50 and as one of the top 10 managed hosting providers by MSPmentor 100.

Angus MacSween, CEO of iomart Group plc, said: “We are delighted that iomart’s commitment to sustainable growth and innovation is being recognised on the UK stage. We’ve worked hard to position the company as a leading provider in the competitive market for cloud services and being shortlisted for the National Business Awards alongside some of the most famous names in British business demonstrates that we’re making real headway.”

Announcing the finalists, Steve Pateman, Head of Santander Corporate, Commercial and Business Banking said: “Small and medium sized businesses are the drivers of the UK economy, and the National Business Awards are an excellent opportunity to celebrate the innovation, flexibility and hard work of these companies. I would like to wish all the finalists every success both in these awards and for their future business ventures.”

Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone, Chair of Judges, the National Business Awards, said: “The economic climate continues to present UK businesses with an unprecedented challenge: it is therefore particularly encouraging that the entries in this year’s National Business Awards have shown no drop in quality or performance. Congratulations to all finalists for demonstrating tremendous strength in their ability to adapt and innovate which no doubt reflects the resilience and optimism that are the hallmarks of UK enterprise.”

Organised by UBM plc, winners will be honoured at the National Business Awards gala dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London, Tuesday 8th November, where George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will deliver this year’s welcome address.

Martin Stiven, Vice President of Business at Orange, part of Everything Everywhere, said: “Reaching the finals of the National Business Awards is no mean feat and I am delighted that the calibre of entrants keeps on improving. All finalists have demonstrated exceptional drive, resilience and innovation during challenging economic conditions. Many congratulations to all finalists and best of luck with the next stage of the competition, I very much look forward to the live judging in September and October.”

Visit the National Business Awards website www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk for a full list of all 2011 finalists. For more information about iomart Group plc visit www.iomart.com