Compass Datacenters Report September 2024 | Page 14

COMPASS DATACENTERS
the digital economy and there are great benefits associated with the digital economy sitting in your backyard .”
Currently , Compass and the wider data centre industry face the so-called ‘ Four Ps ’ of innovation : People , Planet , Power and Perception .
Addressing the ‘ people ’ challenge , Nancy says : “ Workforce development is critical . Setting a skilled workforce in place to continue building out the digital infrastructure is a big challenge .”
Next , she turns her attention to the planet .
“ We in the data centre sector have to be stewards of our planet ,” she says . “ What ’ s fascinating about this in the context of the built environment is that the better we are with our ESG strategy , the better we are in all kinds of other ways .”
Such examples include achieving higher quality and safer operations , greater levels of efficiency , stronger workplace diversity and less waste .
For Nancy , a highlight of her role is overcoming challenges on projects where she balances speed , budget and managing expectations . She feels that a particular strength is empathy .
“ I like to make sure everybody feels good about a project during its construction and also when it ’ s finished ,” she says . “ As women , we are uniquely adept at putting ourselves in other people ’ s shoes and understand what motivates people , which is especially important in challenging circumstances . I try to view our partners through that same empathetic lens .”
Although Nancy is excited to see the data centre industry experiencing unprecedented growth , she is aware that it also faces a number of challenges which could impede its ability to meet demand . Long-time partners Vertiv and Schneider Electric are helping Compass meet such challenges , both with whom Nancy works closely . One significant challenge the industry faces is power availability . “ AI came on strong and created a surge in power demand , which purports
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