Data Centres
How AI is affecting data centre deployment
By Trevor Smith, business development manager at Molex
I
nvestment in data centres is at an all- time high, driven by the emergence of AI. In the UK alone, AI projects worth over £14 billion were announced at the start of the year, with companies including Vantage, Nscale and Kyndryl all pledging to invest in the region. Microsoft has been the latest command headlines, planning four new data centres in the UK at a total cost of £330 million.
It is a similar story across the continent, where data centre investment is projected to reach over €100 billion by 2030, according to the European Data Centre Association (EUDCA).
So, what does this mean for operators and how are they coping with this sudden surge in demand?
30 July/August 2026
Why is AI having such a profound effect on the data centre industry and what is driving this transformation?
Artificial intelligence is dramatically accelerating the volume of data being produced and processed. Machine learning, neural networks, natural language processing, deep learning, and generative AI all depend upon the processing of enormous quantities of data. Recent estimates put global data volume at 149 zettabytes (ZB) in 2024, up from just 59 ZB in 2020, which has more than doubled in the past four years. This growth shows no signs of slowing.
It is easy to see why data centre investment is surging. But it is not as straightforward as building more facilities. Traditional
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deployment models are becoming less viable. Operators are having to evolve their approaches to everything from hardware and infrastructure strategies to geography and workforce models to meet this new demand.
What impact does this have on hardware decision-making? While storage and computer capacity dominate the discussion, particularly with ongoing GPU shortages, this represents only part of the picture.
Consider data mobility within the data centre, for example. With exponentially more data moving between nodes at high speeds, system designers are tasked with evolving their approach to interconnect infrastructure, increasingly using high-
density fibre connectivity. We are seeing growing demand for Very Small Form Factor (VSFF) connectors, such as MMC and SN-MT. They offer three times the density of traditional fibre connectors, increasing network capacity, reducing congestion, and improving overall system performance. They are likely to become the preferred choice for faster deployment.
While solutions like these help address data throughput, they raise physical challenges. The sheer weight and volume of these cables must also be carefully managed. As a result, many designers are transitioning from high-count trunk cables to more manageable 144/288-fibre trunk cables. And we expect operators to explore similar options for vertical cable management
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