The Key Themes from DataCloud Global Congress 2026

June 11, 2026

From shifting demand patterns and deliverability pressures to AI-driven infrastructure strategies, this year’s DataCloud Global Congress made clear that the data centre industry is entering a new phase of development. The key themes explored in this blog are drawn from observations gathered throughout the week in Cannes, as well as insights shared in an interview with Capacity TV, offering a snapshot of the conversations shaping the market.

Demand is Moving Away from Traditional Hubs

Perhaps the most commonly repeated talking point at DataCloud Global Congress 2026 was shifting demand patterns across the industry. From the US data centre heartland of Northern Virginia to Europe’s FLAP-D markets, many of the industry’s traditional growth hubs are facing constraints. However, these constraints have not led to a fall in demand. On the contrary, demand is reacting to market conditions and moving into other regions, offering greater room to grow.

As Scott Roots, DC Byte’s Sales Director – EMEA, explained when interviewed, “As a whole, we’re seeing that those constraints are not really suppressing demand. All that’s really doing is redistributing demand to other places.

The historic growth hubs of FLAP-D, Singapore and Northern Virginia are now capacity-allocated markets. So, if an operator or investor must be there, they’ll find a way into the market. But what we’re seeing is demand spilling into other nearby regions, and it’s really driving a power-led strategy by data centre developers.” This dynamic has provided industry stakeholders with a new group of emerging markets to watch in the coming years. Scott Roots laid out some of these markets to Capacity TV: “We’re seeing Singapore being suppressed in its capability, but Johor has grown exponentially over the past few months and years. Bangkok in Thailand has become a really interesting alternative to Singapore in Southeast Asia.

If we look here in Europe, the Nordics, Iberia, Northern Italy, Northern Greece, and also the Mediterranean landing-station cities, such as Barcelona, Genoa, Marseille and even Crete. Then over in the US, Canada is an interesting alternative market: politically stable, with power availability and climate advantages. And then in the USA itself, Texas, Georgia and Pennsylvania. We’re still seeing growth in Virginia, but just not necessarily in Ashburn or Loudoun County.”

Deliverability and Speed-to-Market have Become Key

Echoing the discussions across DC Byte’s recent webinar series, deliverability, not raw demand, has become the most important metric for many industry stakeholders. Operators, investors and developers across the globe have begun to consider not just whether there is demand in a market, but how quickly it can be converted into live capacity.

The primary reason for this shift is constraints. According to DC Byte’s data, of the 487 GW of total global IT capacity, just 65 GW is currently live and over 28% is in the pipeline, illustrating the impact of constraints on deliverability. The outcome is a market in which investors and customers are placing greater emphasis on projects with secured power, planning approvals and realistic delivery timelines.

Power availability is key to this calculation, as DC Byte’s CEO Bernard Johnson shared with Capacity TV: “Obviously, AI is still the predominant growth driver, as everyone knows. Everyone is talking about power constraints, as they always have been, but I think, really, power availability is one of the primary things that people are most concerned about. And as a result of that, it’s changing people’s view of risk and risk perception around facilities across the board. We’re seeing a lot of people looking at facilities with early-stage leasing, for example. I think that’s a really big dynamic in the conversation this time. How much can you take the risk out of developments as early as possible?”

AI is Reshaping the Data Centre Industry

Almost every panel at DataCloud Global Congress 2026 featured a discussion on how AI workloads have transformed the global data centre ecosystem. Regardless of region, AI has become the primary driver of demand everywhere. In turn, this has changed the way operators and developers think about geography.

Traditionally, industry stakeholders focused on proximity to users and networks when planning new projects, as this was primarily where demand came from. This is still true for inference AI workloads, which require access to consumers. However, AI training workloads can be highly location-flexible; all that’s needed is huge quantities of power. In practice, this means operators and investors are looking towards markets outside traditional hubs and well-connected metros in search of the resources needed to run AI training platforms.

However, AI’s impact isn’t just being felt geographically. Another subject discussed on many panels was the huge demand for high-density infrastructure and the ways this is changing how data centres are built. For example, modular systems that allow operators to update sites as technology evolves are becoming increasingly common. Similarly, the raw power demand from AI companies and neo-clouds is driving larger rack sizes and more widespread use of technologies such as liquid cooling for chipsets.

The Growing Role of Community Engagement and Sustainability

Whether it was the growing impact of community opposition in APAC or US hyperscalers prioritising local engagement, how data centre projects interact with their surrounding environment was a common theme across the week.

Scott Roots explained: “Critically important in the conversations we’ve been having here in Cannes this week is community support for data centre developments. Because we’re seeing the possibility of getting power and gaining permissions, but if it’s not backed by the community, then it’s a really difficult sell.”

Throughout the week, there was broad consensus among industry experts that successful projects are no longer simply a case of securing power and planning approvals. Increasingly, local support and early engagement with community stakeholders determine not just the speed at which projects move through development, but often whether they are built at all. Closely related, and indeed driving many community concerns, is sustainability. The sustainability of projects remains a priority throughout the industry. However, DC Byte’s analysts noted a subtle shift in focus from previous editions of DGC. Whereas in the past industry discussions often centred on the need for sustainable design, the conversations have moved on to practical implementation, including energy efficiency, heat reuse and responsible power sourcing.

Reliable Market Intelligence Has Never Been More Important

If there was an overarching message from DataCloud Congress 2026, it was that global markets are more interconnected than ever. Decisions made in one region increasingly influence supply chains, investment flows and development strategies in others.

This is illustrated by the flow of new projects away from traditional hubs towards markets that once saw little activity or were viewed by the industry as ‘spillover’ or secondary markets. These locations are becoming increasingly important, precisely because of factors such as constraints in other markets and regions.

In this environment, reliable market intelligence has never been more valuable. Understanding power availability, hyperscaler activity, pipeline deliverability and competitive dynamics is critical to making informed decisions and, ultimately, achieving success. As Bernard Johnson aptly put it, “The dynamic is very much that this is a global market. Stakeholders need to understand how all markets play simultaneously, what is deliverable and what isn’t. That is what DC Byte is here to provide.”

If your planning depends on separating announced capacity from deliverable capacity, you need better visibility on data center markets, not bigger bets. Book a demo with our team to explore our Market Analytics, where we capture global data centre capacity by market and development stage.