The DCD>Awards recognizes the most outstanding projects, people and teams, and this year we received more entries than ever before across 17 categories.
We're thrilled to announce the shortlisted finalists, with all entries independently judged by the largest and most diverse panel of renowned experts in the 18-year history of the awards.
Our judges combed through over 350 entries to select the shortlist, with the winners set to be announced on December 11 at the DCD>Awards Gala Dinner & Ceremony , hosted by renowned comedian Dara Ó Briain in Central London at Grosvenor House London.
To find out who is crowned the winner, tune in to the live stream on December 11!
Edge Data Center Project of the Year
As AI use cases continue to proliferate, real-time, decentralized processing has never been more important. This award recognizes projects that can demonstrate a unique and strategic approach as to how a successful Edge deployment is designed, set up and operated, and show how this creates new and exciting opportunities for delivering on IT and business objectives.
Finalists:
Elea Data Centers Auto-Pilot Project: Unparalleled Cloud Connectivity Automation (Brazil)Linkpool Utilizing Edge Architecture to Drive Blockchain Innovation in collaboration with Pulsant (UK)nLighten Pan-European, Sustainably-Focused Edge Data Center Platform (Europe)Scale Computing Royal Farms Edge Computing Deployment (USA)This category is sponsored by VIAVI
Asia Pacific Data Center Project of the Year
This award recognizes projects from across Asia Pacific that have pushed the boundaries of data center design and construction over the past year, with innovative new technologies used and novel engineering, design, and construction strategies deployed throughout the build process.
Finalists :
Bridge Data Centres Malaysia MY06C2 Data Center Project (Johor Bahru, Malaysia)Erilyan Equinix SY5 Phase 3 Data Center Project (NSW, Australia)Firmus Metal International Sustainable HyperCube Deployment in collaboration with ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (Singapore)K2 Strategic Malaysia JHR01-02 Data Center Project (Johor Bahru, Malaysia)This category is sponsored by Huawei
Energy Impact Award
As the data center has become an increasingly critical foundation of the modern world, it has become equally associated with significant energy consumption. This award recognizes the most innovative and efficient ways in which data centers are sourcing, managing, and conserving energy.
Finalists :
Chindata Group Taihang Mountain Energy and Information Technology Industrial Campus in Lingqiu (Shanxi Province, China)ECL MV1 Off-Grid Data Center in Mountain View (California)T.Loop Grid Capacity Project (Sweden)Urban Electric Power Zinc-Manganese Battery Backup at the San Diego Supercomputer Center in collaboration with Tate (California)This category is sponsored by RED Engineering
Data Center Construction Team of the Year
The delivery of a data center is a race against the clock, as time is money. It’s also a situation where no corners can be cut, and the eventual product must not fall below agreed specifications and quality standards.
This award recognizes construction teams that demonstrated flexibility and initiative in dealing with project twists and turns while meeting or exceeding overall time, cost and quality outcomes.
Finalists :
AdaniConneX Hyderabad Construction Team (India)Erilyan Equinix SY5 Phase 3 Construction Team (Australia)Scala Data Centers Phase 2 of the Tamboré Campus (Brazil)Vantage Data Centers AZ13 Campus Construction Team (USA)This category is sponsored by Cleveland Cables
Data Center Operations Team of the Year
No one runs a data center in isolation, and teamwork is a crucial skill alongside the technical know-how the job requires. While working to ensure the operation runs reliably and effectively in line with client expectations, the operations team needs also to respond effectively to unforeseen situations, requests, and challenges.
This award recognizes teams convened for special tasks or 'one-off' projects, or to deal with unforeseen situations.
Finalists :
Elea Data Centers Operations Team: Ensuring Uptime During the Rio Grande do Sul Floods (Brazil)Grupos Salinas Colab 2.0 Operations Team: Delivering Autonomous Models with High Availability (Mexico)Pure Data Centres Central Operations Team: Developing and Delivering 200MW of IT Capacity (London, Jakarta, Dublin)Teraco Data Environments Operations Team: Tackling Grid Availability (South Africa)This category is sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric
Young Mission Critical Engineer of the Year
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. Past winners have gone on to build successful careers while raising the profile of the companies that employ them.
New technologies and new platforms require new skills, so this category is open to the whole mission critical stack, including not only M&E but also systems, architecture and software professionals. Judges will be looking for a track record of achievement in project leadership and delivery as well as a higher profile in our industry than their years would suggest.
Finalists :
Erik Haugvaldstad, Operation Specialist/Automation Engineer, Green MountainGuilherme Amorim Obelleiro , Construction Project Manager, Scala Data CentersLaura Munoz Becerra , Connectivity Engineer, MetaSean Byrne , Senior Project Mechanical Engineer, Ethos EngineeringThis category is sponsored by Kirby Engineering
Data Center Woman of the Year
The Woman of the Year award celebrates a visionary who has not only pushed the boundaries of technology but also paved the way for inclusivity and innovation. Her unyielding commitment to building or operating robust, scalable, and sustainable digital infrastructure has empowered businesses, connected communities, and transformed the way we think. Through her leadership, resilience, and forward-thinking approach, she has proven that the future of digital infrastructure is both dynamic and inclusive.
Finalists :
Barbara Sacha , Partner, CundallDame Dawn Childs , CEO, Pure Data CentresSunita Bottse , CEO, Mena Digital HubWabo Majavu , Executive Strategy and Business Operations, Africa Data CentresThis category is sponsored by Anord Mardix
Special thanks to our Headline Partner...
Mercury is a European contractor that builds and manages complex engineering projects that reimagine how people work and live in the built environment. Mercury believes that real innovation happens if you’re willing to be brave. Its determination and sharp focus enable Mercury to deliver leading edge construction solutions across a range of key sectors, taking its clients to new territories they never thought possible.
Mercury’s purpose is to deliver its clients vision through leading edge construction solutions, going beyond their duty which turns clients into partners and builds relationships that thrive across the following Sectors: Enterprise Data Centres, Advanced Technology & Life Sciences, Hyperscale Data Centres, Fire Protection, Technical Support Services (TSS), Data Centre Facility Management, Healthcare & Building Services.
