The future prospects of the data center community rely on the emergence of a new generation, ready to pick up the baton and take the sector on towards undreamt-of achievements. This category recognizes these future leaders, and past winners have gone on to build successful careers while raising the profile of the companies that employ them.

This category is open to any individual actively involved in the mission critical domain whether they work in data center design, operations, management, systems architecture or even software engineering. To qualify, the individual must be aged 30 or under on December 1, 2025.

What the judges are looking for

The judging panel will be looking to shortlist young engineers that have demonstrated successful project leadership and delivery and have burgeoning profiles that belie their age. Perhaps they have been involved in key company successes or are progressing through their organization unusually quickly or are already technical innovators in their own right.

The individual should be able to demonstrate their career path in engineering or an engineering-based discipline or in a discipline relevant to data center systems, IT architecture and software systems.

Who can enter

The individual must be actively involved in any area of data center design, operations/management, systems, architecture or software at end-user, services or consultant level and be 30 or under on December 1, 2025. The individual should be able to demonstrate their career path in engineering or an engineering-based discipline or in a discipline relevant to data center systems, IT architecture and software systems.