As director of public policy at CyrusOne, Emma Fryer makes it her mission to mitigate risks to business operations posed by policy and regulatory developments – across no fewer than seven European markets. A role like this covers everything from lobbying to shape more favorable regulations, to driving education efforts that ensure policymakers and the public are well-informed about data centers.
In this episode of DCD>Talks, we explore how Fryer’s role is particularly crucial at CyrusOne, as a global colocation provider with around 50 operational data centers. Furthermore, the company – like many others in the industry – is looking to expand into more rural or underserved markets, which comes with its own set of public policy challenges. Fryer notes:
“The conventional availability zones are becoming increasingly saturated. In traditional locations, such as industrial estates, you're seeing developments shift toward semi-rural areas or urban residential zones.
"That makes it essential to carefully consider how you integrate data centers and to understand public perceptions before moving forward. It's key for informing our future community engagement strategies.”
Fryer highlights how this focus even led to a study examining public perceptions of data centers and their impact on community initiatives:
“There's an element of frustration because we see a lot of negative media coverage. However, when we engage directly with the communities where we plan developments, the feedback is generally far more positive. We also wanted something statistically robust, so that when sensationalist articles emerge, we have something concrete to challenge or refute them.”
With a representative sample of 13,129 general consumers across seven countries, CyrusOne aims to demonstrate that much of this media coverage does not necessarily reflect broader public opinion.
What the public really knows about data centers
Fryer explains that CyrusOne’s study, designed to inform future community engagement strategies and better understand public perception to ensure data centers are accepted by communities, yielded interesting and somewhat surprising results.
As anticipated, people living near data centers were more likely to understand their purpose and recognize their benefits. In contrast, the age group with the lowest awareness of data centers was the 16 to 24-year-old demographic.
“Only 35 percent of them connected WhatsApp, TikTok, and Spotify, with the need for digital infrastructure – specifically data centers,” Fryer divulges.
“The overall understanding of what data centers do and how essential they are to our everyday digital services was surprisingly low. Across Europe, only 52 percent of respondents selected the correct definition from a set of five options.
"Statistically, with five choices, 20 percent should have answered correctly by chance alone, so 52 percent is still quite low. Astonishingly, the UK had the lowest awareness in Europe.”
Fryer notes that while the sector has been effective in educating policymakers, outreach to the general public has been more challenging due to the industry’s B2B nature.
The study highlights the need for greater public education, drawing in adjacent industries like power and energy. Fryer stresses the importance of improved community engagement and transparency to address public concerns and improve data center acceptance.
The discussion concludes with a focus on the long-term importance of community engagement and the vital role data centers play in supporting local economies.
To learn more about Emma Fryer’s take on the study’s findings, listen to the full DCD>Talks episode here. Read the report here.
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