- Half of Brits aren’t even familiar with data centres, report says
- Three in five know they play a role in hybrid work
- More education could increase public trust in data centers
Despite efforts to boost the country’s AI capabilities, new research from Telehouse has revealed that more than half (51%) of Britons are not even familiar with the term “data centre”.
Even people who have heard of data centers don’t necessarily have any idea of the role they play in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and even cloud storage.
Two in three (67%) do not understand the role dating centers play and two in five (42%) are unaware of the scale of people, apps and data that support such campuses.
British citizens are unaware of data centers
The trend paints a worrying picture for Britain’s intentions to become a leader in artificial intelligence: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wants to make the UK a world leader in artificial intelligence.
In 2024, data centers became classified as critical national infrastructure, giving them additional protection and monitoring, and recent years have seen an increase in government focus on data centers, coinciding with investments in artificial intelligence and other plans to expand digital infrastructure. Deputy First Minister Angela Rayner recently approved a £670 million data center project in Buckinghamshire that will take up land on a green belt.
However, while two in three (59%) of the 2,000 UK consumers surveyed acknowledged that data centers are important for remote working, 19% are unsure how the facilities actually support their remote working.
“We are aware that there is a significant knowledge gap about data centers and their impact on digital life,” said Telehouse Europe executive vice president and general manager Mark Pestridge.
Pestridge hopes that education around data centers will reduce the knowledge gap and therefore increase public trust in digital infrastructure.
