The UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) designation for data centres: “A rose by any other name…”

The creation of a whole new government Department (DSIT) is itself an encouraging indication that digital technology is starting to get the attention it deserves. A modern hyperscale facility may not possess the exquisite beauty of Shakespeare’s Juliet, but we have long known that data centres (DCs) are critical national infrastructure in all but name.

So formal recognition of the strategic importance of the ‘DC’ sector, however belatedly, should not be much of a surprise. The real mystery is how this fact escaped UK government for so long. For a country as digitally-dependent as the UK, it is extraordinary that DCs were not designated CNI years ago. That said, the current list of CNI sectors does have a slightly nineteenth-century whiff.

Reads Emma’s full article at: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/opinions/the-uks-cni-designation-for-data-centers-a-rose-by-any-other-name/

Please note, that Emma’s full article was published in September 2024.