The Security Industry Association (SIA) has created a new Data Centre Advisory Board, chaired by Microsoft’s Jim Black, to provide expert guidance on data centre security as demand for cloud infrastructure surges.
The move by the SIA comes amid rapid growth in the data centre sector, driven by artificial intelligence and other compute-intensive technologies that are increasing demand for cloud storage. It also comes on the back of increased Government scrutiny around the security of data centres, including in the UK where they received the Critical National Infrastructure designation last year.
According to the SIA, the Data Centre Advisory Board will focus on developing information and guidelines related to security deployments, facilitating collaboration between security suppliers and data centre security practitioners, and, where appropriate, working with SIA’s Government relations team on legislative and regulatory issues affecting the sector.
The Data Centre Advisory Board will be chaired by industry heavyweight Jim Black, who has been with Microsoft since 2011 within the Cloud Operations + Innovation group. In his role as Senior Director and Security Architect, he defines security technology strategies and vision to protect assets and personnel across Microsoft’s global ecosystem of more than 400 data centres – making him more than qualified for the role.
Speaking of his appointment and the creation of the new Data Centre Advisory Board, Black noted, “The data centre industry is experiencing unprecedented growth and heightened risks driven by emerging technologies and global operational challenges.
“I am honoured to serve as SIA’s inaugural Data Centre Advisory Board chair and look forward to working with this accomplished group of industry experts to advance and publish modern security standards that will strengthen cloud critical infrastructure protection worldwide.”
SIA Chief Executive Don Erickson said that Black’s experience in large-scale data centre environments would help shape the board’s work from the outset.
“The Data Centre Advisory Board is an important venture for SIA, and we are very pleased that it will be able to benefit from Jim’s experience and expertise in data centre security from its inception,” Erickson said.
“Jim has for many years been an enthusiastic and generous supporter of SIA, contributing to multiple groups and projects that have advanced the industry’s professionalism and knowledge base. We are excited about what the advisory board will accomplish under his leadership.”
