SUDLOWS
“ The future is going to be challenging for everyone in the sector . It ' s going to be good , but it ' s definitely going to be a challenge as demand grows , time frames get shorter , sustainability gets more important , and skills are in shorter and shorter supply ,” he says , adding that the international business ’ rebranding into Sudlows Consulting is an important step towards “ reinforcing to our clients that Sudlows Consulting is a fullyfledged , full-stack data centre consultancy ,” capable of taking on any of the challenges that lie ahead .
“ The first challenge now is getting the Singapore office up and running , which has been hampered by travel restrictions ,” adds John , “ but the biggest challenge is still going to be getting the right people , which COVID- 19 also isn ' t making any easier .”
However big the hurdles facing the entire industry at this pivotal moment in time , Sudlows Consulting is remarkably well equipped to capitalise on this unique opportunity . “ Across the whole region ( APAC ) there ' s about 2.3 GW of data centre capacity active right now . That ' s going to double over the next three to five years . Even if every data centre building is 50 MW , that ' s still almost
“ It ' s exciting putting 30 MW of power in a building . You go back 30 years and you ' d struggle to find 30 MW of power across the whole of some cities ”
another 50 projects ,” he says . “ The demand is so much bigger than the supply , and that ' s just based on predictions ; over the last few years , growth predictions have consistently turned out to be on the conservative side , so who knows how big things are going to get , and how fast it ' s going to happen .”
When it comes to competing in this world of unprecedented demand , Rippingale is confident that “ Our specialist knowledge is going to stand us in good stead at a time when there are a lot of other players trying to get into this industry - largely because , outside of the data centre sector , the markets aren ' t doing so well .”
He reflects : “ Just because you ' re an established general MEP consultancy and have one person in your organisation who knows about data centres , that doesn ' t really qualify you to be a data centre consultancy or expert . The reason we can deliver top level work is because we ' ve got experienced , top-tier talent . There ’ s a saying in the Middle East that , if you want good bread , you should be ‘ giving your bread dough to the baker ,’ which means always go to the expert .”
JOHN RIPPINGALE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF MEA & APAC , SUDLOWS CONSULTING constructionglobal . com 105