Anna Rantala, Marketing Manager at BCS, argues that public perception is no longer just uncomfortable noise at the edges of the sector, but a real constraint on planning, talent and long-term growth.

I’ve heard a lot of strong words used to describe the data centre industry lately, ugly, wasteful, power-hungry. Headlines have linked data centres to water shortages and even claimed they’re stopping hospitals from being built. It’s fair to say the industry is firmly in the public spotlight right now.

Colleagues who’ve been in this space longer than me say that for most of their careers, no one really cared what they did once they mentioned ‘data centres’. Now it’s a different story, people have questions, opinions, and sometimes even criticism.

But this isn’t just about uncomfortable conversations or bad headlines. The way people perceive our industry genuinely matters, because it affects how we grow, attract talent, and make progress.

Attracting the right people

One key area I believe is being impacted by our reputation is recruitment. It can’t be a coincidence that the industry continues to suffer from a skills shortage that is so serious that it risks delaying global digitalisation and AI development. 

There are huge numbers of well-paid job opportunities in our sector that are created across a wide range of disciplines from marketing and finance to electricians and architects, and yet it isn’t an obvious choice for people. In fact, if you speak to most of my colleagues, they will tell you they ended up in the sector by accident and we need to get the message out about what a great career this can be.

At BCS we run inclusive hiring initiatives including apprentice and athlete programmes, and we are open to transferable skills of all kinds. We actively engage with schools and universities to enlighten young minds about the opportunities available within the construction and data centre sectors.

Sustainability is often one of the key concerns cited particularly by younger people that we desperately need to attract into the industry. There has been a huge amount of work and progress in this area, but examples of projects that are net positive or where the design has included district heating for thousands of homes are rarely discussed.

Planning for success

Planning is feeling the pressure too. A good example is the development in Abbots Langley, which became the centre of a heated debate, one that sums up the tension between national priorities and local concerns.

The local council initially rejected the proposal, raising issues around environmental impact, loss of green space, and limited local benefit. This was despite the project’s scale of over £1 billion in investment and more than 200 permanent jobs. The UK government later stepped in and overturned the decision, classing it as nationally significant infrastructure.

It’s a reminder that if we lose the trust of local communities, everyone loses. This isn’t an isolated case, similar challenges are popping up across the UK and Europe.

For me, the takeaway is simple: reputation matters.

Projects that succeed in the future will be those built on transparency, genuine community engagement, clear local benefits and real sustainability action. And at the heart of all that is communication, making sure people understand what data centres do, why they matter, and how they can create value beyond the site fence.

Changing the narrative

At the core of all this is a simple problem: most people don’t really understand what data centres do or why they matter. That lack of understanding creates space for misconceptions and negativity.

We need to shift the narrative, to show how the growth of this industry directly supports the progress of the digital world and the benefits it brings to society. Think about what AI could mean for healthcare, education, or public services. None of that happens without data centres.

At the same time, we need to remind people that data centres exist because of everyday demand, fast streaming, gaming, social media, and cloud storage. They enable the things we all rely on, even if we rarely think about what’s behind them.

Part of the challenge is that the industry has always been quite private. There’s a lot of jargon, not much visibility, and a tendency to stay defensive. But that has to change. It’s time to talk more openly, to own the challenges but also share the progress and purpose behind what we do.

Conclusion

There’s a real frustration in the industry that people on the outside rarely see the positives. Data centres aren’t just necessary to keep our digital world running, they can also drive regeneration, improve infrastructure, and accelerate progress towards greener energy.

But too often, that story gets lost. The focus lands on what’s being used rather than what’s being built, improved or enabled.

So, are we doing enough to change that? Probably not yet. But we have to try harder, communicate better and listen more, and show the real value our industry brings to communities and to the world around us.