Today marked a milestone for the UK’s digital future, as the Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, officially designated data centres as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). This decision acknowledges the essential role data centres play in powering everything from life-saving drug discovery to climate monitoring, supporting national industries, and enabling cutting-edge AI innovation.

At Kao Data, we’ve always believed in the critical role data centres play in modern society. They are the invisible backbone behind our healthcare systems, financial services, communications, and more. Our recent £350M investment in the largest, most sustainable data centre in the north of England exemplifies our commitment to advancing this infrastructure across the UK, while our campus in Harlow has long been renowned for hosting some of the UK’s most important high performance computing workloads.

With the CNI designation, data centres will now receive greater Government support, safeguarding against cyber threats, power outages, and more, putting them on par with vital services like water and energy.

In response to this announcement, David Bloom, Founder and Chairman of Kao Data commented, “This signals a welcome and positive change, which has been a part of a series of engagement that the industry has been having with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

This important conversation and change is indicative of the data sovereignty agenda which we believe will become ever more prevalent in all countries. The impacts here could be wide ranging from priority power to planning. Meanwhile it further underlines the value, barriers to entry and criticality of the data centre sector as a whole.”

Doug Loewe, CEO of Kao Data added, “Kao Data is delighted to see the Government’s announcement naming data centres as critical national infrastructure, fulfilling a pledge made in the 2024 Labour manifesto. 

This announcement comes at a crucial inflection point for the sector, with demand for data centres rising significantly due to the growth of AI. It signals the UK’s commitment to building sustainable infrastructure fit for an AI-driven future.

Kao Data believes data centres can play a key role in regenerating former industrial sites, contributing to economic renewal without the need to relax planning permissions or build on greenbelt land. 

Today’s announcement recognises the significant opportunities that new data centres can bring to the UK economy, but this should be viewed as just the first step. We look forward to working closely with the Government and industry peers to develop a comprehensive, joined-up UK data centre and energy strategy.

The Government’s move highlights the growing importance of data centres to the UK economy. Kao Data will soon break ground on a new data centre in Stockport, Greater Manchester. Designed specifically for AI, this project represents an inward investment of £350 million into the region and is expected to boost Stockport’s local economy by £155 million during its construction, according to an independent report from Nicol Economics.

Further, this will be the largest data centre in the North of England, not only rebalancing the UK’s data centre cluster away from London and the South East but also reinforcing the UK’s position as a global leader in AI and data centre capacity.”

This is a huge step forward for our sector, but it’s only the beginning. The whole team at Kao Data look forward to continuing our work with policymakers to ensure data centres are supported, diversified across the UK, and remain a pillar of innovation and resilience.

More? You can read more analysis on this news in our blog from Spencer Lamb, CCO, Kao Data.