INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE POWERED BY THE DCA
By breaking out of your comfort zone and
getting out of the office to attend events you
are expanding both your knowledge and horizons.
Industry events provide the opportunity
to mix and mingle, to form new
relationships and strengthen existing
ones. There is no doubt that social media
keeps you connected to your peers,
however there is really no substitution for
meeting people face to face for you are
far more likely to make a connection with
that perfect provider or prospect when
done in person.
There is also nothing like being in a
room of like-minded people. When you
sit in a workshop with your peers, you
quickly discover that the problems and
frustrations you thought you were facing
alone are shared by most in the room.
Educational workshops and seminars
help to improve your knowledge, skills
and personal profile. This unique platform
fosters lasting collaborative partnerships
and fresh ideas for you to take back to
your own organisation.
If you choose not to participate in industry
events you could narrow your options and
you may well be missing out on that vital
piece of the puzzle that’s been eluding
you or maybe even giving up your seat
to someone who could well become your
toughest competitor in the future.
One of the key roles of the DCA as the
trade association for the data centre
sector is to support data centre events in
the UK, Europe and beyond. In addition to
hosting our own regular events the DCA
is the official event partner for many of
the other data centre conferences and
seminars which take place each year.
Providing advice and guidance in the
planning stages of upcoming conferences,
the objective is always the same, to
ensure that the event and programme
delivers maximum value to sponsors,
speakers and delegates.
A good example of this is the collaborative
efforts of the DCA and event management
teams to devise features such as the
‘Live Green Data Centre’ and the ‘6th
Generation Data Centre’ hosted by Data
Centre World in London, Paris, Frankfurt
and Hong Kong.
As event partners, the DCA also assists
with the development of conference
programmes, both in terms of content
and speakers.
Our guidance ensures that conference
producers are up to speed on the latest
‘hot topics’ and challenges facing our
sector. Through the member community
and academic/strategic partners the DCA
provides access to some of the smartest
minds in the sector and proposes these
people for speaking opportunities.
We often place members on panels related
to their expertise or arrange for them to
present in standalone sessions as subject
matter experts.
Steve Hone, CEO, DCA
22
Issue 04
The DCA team also assists with chairing/
moderating for many conference sessions;
this allows us to help stimulate and
steer the conversation in an appropriate
direction and to field questions on behalf
of our members.
The DCA’s annual Data Centre
ReTransformation conference 2019
Every year the Data Centre Trade
Association hosts a one-day educational
knowledge sharing conference in
Manchester called Data Centre
ReTransformation. This year the event
will be on September 11 at The Lowry in
Salford Quays.
The emphasis of Data Centre
ReTransformation is educational as
opposed to commercial – sales pitches
are banned. Instead there is a day full of
workshops, keynote presentations and
networking sessions.
This provides a forum where existing
challenges can be openly discussed with
peers and industry experts and where a
glimpse into the future can be explored.
This is a unique opportunity for those
delegates attending to meet up with
existing friends, be introduced to new
ones and hopefully come away having
learnt something new.
The workshops are designed to
benefit the entire data centre sector
welcoming DCA Partners, Strategic
Partners, Registered Users and Data
Centre Owners/Operators – in fact
anyone with an interest in data centres
is welcome to register and attend this
event, which is funded by the DCA and its
supporting partners.
Work started on setting up the DCA in 2009
following consultation between industry
leaders the DTI, RDA and EU Commission.
The aim was to create a trade
association that is completely inclusive,
independent and vendor natural
representing the interests of the entire
data centre community.
This includes private data centre/
server room owners, consumers of data
centre 3rd party services and suppliers
providing products and services to the
data centre sector.
www.intelligentdatacentres.com