At Manchester Digital, we like to interview our members to find out a bit more about what they do and their work in the Greater Manchester digital and technology sphere. This week, we're speaking with Adam Nethersole, VP Marketing at Kao Data.
Why do you think that Greater Manchester would be a good choice for the next Government AI Growth Zone?
Manchester and the North West region is an obvious choice for the next Government AI Growth Zone (AIGZ). There are numerous reasons for this such as the well-established existing tech ecosystem and great tech community; a cluster of world-class universities and research institutions and a booming commercial footprint, much of it using AI already.
To create a new AI hub in the North West, the sector will need more data centres engineered for AI in the area, on top of the new £350m data centre we’re currently building in Stockport.
Greater Manchester is an excellent place for a majr data centre hub, with plenty of formerly industrial brownfield sites to site data centres upon, and excellent power and fibre connections, with which to power and connect the AI revolution.
On top of that, many areas of London and the South East are now close to capacity for data centres in terms of power supply and nearby Dublin (only 160 miles away) has a moratorium on new data centres being built until 2028, due to their own power constraints. So Greater Manchester is an ideal alternative to provide the capacity needed to underpin an AIGZ.
If Greater Manchester is designated as an AI Growth Zone, how will this affect the tech sector and the region as a whole?
The whole North West region would benefit hugely from being designated an AIGZ. The specific details of what infrastructure, funding and government support would be provided to successful AIGZ submissions is yet to be confirmed, but without question AIGZ status would act as a beacon for AI startups, international hyperscalers and high tech firms to head to the city, bringing with them investment and jobs. It would also encourage more investment into research and development around AI.
The upcoming Data Centre Summit in Manchester on April 22 will also put a spotlight on the region as a growing AI hub. This event, where Kao Data is a headline sponsor, is hosted in partnership with Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority - two cities where the mayors work very closely together to champion the North and affect positive change for their regions. This event will serve to highlight the North West as a leading hub for the growing AI economy.
How will Kao Data's new data centre benefit the overall Stockport community and why is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) so important?
The whole team at Kao Data believes it’s really important to be an active part of the communities where we are situated, rather than just a logo on a large warehouse. In November last year, we launched our first ‘Kao SEED Fund’ for Stockport charities, not-for-profit organisations and community groups, which offered small pots of funding to support new or ongoing projects within the borough based on promoting enterprise and environmental stewardship.This was so popular that we received more than 65 applications (far more than we expected!) and we have raised the total pot to £30,000 in Year 1 to help more groups than originally planned.
We’re really excited about announcing the chosen projects in the next few weeks and then following their projects to look at the impact and outcomes over the year.
We’re also rolling out the Kao SEED Fund initiative to our other data centre locations, with Harlow being next. We have committed to doing this annually so we will announce the next Stockport Kao SEED Fund at the end of 2025, to support 2026 projects.
What types of partnerships or collaborations does Kao Data have with local academic institutions?
We have recently announced a partnership with Trafford and Stockport College Group, in order to ensure that the town’s young people have the right skills and experience for a fast-moving career in tech and AI. This means that we will work closely with the college to help inform the curriculum to make sure that students are being taught the right skills they will need in the future.
As part of this partnership, we ran a careers evening at Bask in Stockport, with more than 100 students and parents coming along to hear from a range of different speakers talking about their career journeys.
We’re also launching an exciting initiative with primary schools in the region later this year, which will help young children understand what a data centre is and also introduce them to some of the jobs that will be required in the future in the tech industry.
In what ways could Kao Data's community engagement and education initiatives align with and support the goals of the AI Action Plan for the region?
It’s really important that we are good neighbours to the communities that we work in, from every aspect. This is why we run partnerships with local colleges, why we’ve set up the Kao SEED Fund and why we get involved in regional events and conferences to share knowledge and build relationships.
But it’s also really important to grow the talent pathway for the tech and AI industry if the region wants to compete on a global scale and bring prosperity for its communities.
Developments in tech and AI are moving faster than the current curriculum so industry definitely needs to play its part in working alongside the educational sector. It’s important that young people today understand that there are a wide variety of jobs in the tech sector, in AI and in the data centre sector.
This is why our new partnership with Trafford and Stockport College are so important for our whole region and the joint aim of growing the tech ecosystem across the whole of the North West.
Thank you Adam!
About Kao Data
Kao Data leads the industry, pioneering the development and operation of UK data centres engineered for AI and advanced computing. Kao Data is currently building a £350m hyperscale data centre in Reddish, Stockport, which is due to be operational by 2027. It currently has data centres in three other sites - Harlow, Slough and Northolt, in London.
Backed by leading international investors, and with several pioneering ‘industry firsts’ to their name, Kao Data represents the future in industrial scale, high-capacity data centres for AI and the next generation of computers.
Learn more about Kao Data here.
