Over 700 delegates and dignitaries from India’s thriving Cloud and Data Center industry, including C-level executives, end users, buyers and key decision makers turned up to cele- brate Mumbai’s vibrant Data Center market at W.Media’s Cloud & Data- center Convention and Awards 2023 (Mumbai CDC).

Mumbai CDC was held at hotel St. Regis in the heart of Mumbai’s thri- ving Lower Parel business district. The day began with lighting of the ceremonial lamp, and saw several power-packed panel discussions wh- ere the crème de la crème of the Cloud and Data Center industry shared their thoughts on a variety of topics ranging from building to scale, to renewable energy options and sustainability, to liquid cooling, to the advent of new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Internet of Things (IoT), to supply chain management and much more.

Speaking during the first power panel discussion on building to scale, Sanjay Bhutani (Chief Business Officer, Adani Connex), said, “We need to focus on sustainability and safety while building data centers to scale,” adding, “We have to make sure sustainability goes beyond power, we need to look at it holistically. Water management and decarbonisation should be a matter of great focus too.”

Syed Mohammed Beary (Founder and Chairman of Beary’s Group) concurred and emphasised the need to adhere to green building standards, saying, “There’s a difference between passion statement and fashion statement for sustainability.”

The panel was moderated by Nick Parfitt who handles Research, Content and Production, for W.Media. Panelist Sumit Mukhija (ED & CEO, ST Telemedia GDC) took the concept of scale itself head on, and said, “Scale is a relative term; its definition will change in five years.” His fellow-panelist, Sujeet Deshpande (CEO and Founder, Lumina CloudInfra) also agreed that things were changing rapidly and this would have an impact on the Cloud and Data Center industry. He said, “5G is just a year old, and in coming years it will change the dynamic of the industry.”

Many other movers and shakers of the Cloud and Data Center industry shared their insights on key factors impacting the growth and development of India’s digital infrastructure. Manish Shangari (VP, AECOM) made a powerful case for the need for effective skill building to create a suitable workforce for the Cloud and Data Center industry. Gaurav Dixit (Service Delivery Manager, Strategic Alliances, Lefdal Mine Data Center) advocated for a comprehensive green agenda.

Other high-profile panelists included Vinod Javur (COO, Digital Edge DC), Neil Johnson (President, Data Center Solutions, CBRE), Mona Shrivastav (Chief Manager IT, BPCL), Ninad Raje (Director and CEO, Health Assure), Manu Sharma (CFO, Pi Data Centers), Ashish Limaye (Head of Procurement – India, Colt DCS), as well as respected industry experts like NK Jain (Founder NK Jain Consulting Engineers), Mahesh Trivedi (Data Center Consultant, DC Consultant) and many others.

The Expo Hall was buzzing with activity as delegates visited stalls where vendors presented their latest technologies. Mumbai CDC also presented a networking opportunity like no other. The evening ended with a glitzy awards function where 16 awards were given surrounding three main categories: People, Planet and Projects. Here’s the list of award winners:

People:
1) Data Center Project Team – MU1 (Princeton Digital Group)
2) Data Center Operations Team – Yotta D1 Operations Team (Yotta Data Services Pvt. Ltd.)
3) Data Center Client Delivery Team – ERO Power Project Team (ERO Power LLP)
4) Technology Leader – Vinod Javur (COO, Digital Edge DC)
5) Technology Leader – Jayabalan Kuthalingam (Director of Engineering, Princeton Digital Group)
6) Business Leader – Kamal Nath (CEO, Sify)
7) Business Leader – Sandeep Dandekar (Senior Director)

Planet:
1) Innovation in Energy Efficiency – Project Energy Smart Energy and Operational Efficiency Drive (STT GDC)
2) Sustainability in Design and Build – CapitaLand
3) Sustainable Transformation Strategy – Datasamudra
4) Skills Development Initiative – DSP Mutual Fund

Projects:
1) Delivering the Edge – Avalon Technologies Limited
2) Data Center Design and Build – Pi Data Centers
3) Network and Interconnect Initiative – Mizuho Bank
4) Digital Technology inside the Data Center – AdaniConneX
5) Innovation in Outsourcing, Migration and Hybrid Strategies – TVS Mobility

Source: Press Release