Capacity Europe 2025: Collaboration, Connectivity, and the Cloud-AI Convergence
The 24th edition of Capacity Europe, held October 21–23, 2025 at the InterContinental London – The O2, brought together more than 3,000 global leaders across the connectivity, cloud, data center, and digital infrastructure ecosystem. Over three impactful days, the event served as Europe’s largest platform for carriers, hyperscalers, data center operators, investors, and technology providers to exchange ideas and forge partnerships shaping the future of global connectivity.
Discussions throughout the event centered on the convergence of network and cloud infrastructure, the accelerating impact of artificial intelligence (AI), and the race to deliver sustainable, scalable capacity. The agenda featured over 150 speakers from organizations including Google Cloud, DE-CIX, Colt Technology, Equinix, NTT DATA, DigitalBridge, and EXA Infrastructure.
Highlighted speakers included Lex Coors, President, EUDCA & Chief Datacenter Technology & Engineering Officer at Digital Realty, and Vladimir Prodanovic, Principal Program Manager at NVIDIA, who both shared insights during the panel “Build Today or Buy Forever: The Role of European Data Centres in Facilitating the AI Explosion.” Tony Rossabi, Founder & Managing Member of Ocolo, and Phillip Marangella, Chief Marketing & Product Officer at EdgeConneX, joined the session “Chasing Power: How to Meet Future Requirements,” addressing one of the industry’s most urgent challenges, access to reliable, sustainable energy for large-scale deployments.
AI at the Core of Infrastructure Growth
AI dominated the conversation from the main stage to private meeting rooms. From hyperscalers to regional fiber providers, leaders agreed that the next era of infrastructure growth will be defined by low-latency, high-capacity ecosystems designed for AI inference and training workloads. European operators are expanding into new metros, while investors are targeting secondary markets where power and land remain available. The consensus: AI is redefining the scale, speed, and sophistication of digital infrastructure build-outs.
Power, Sustainability, and Policy
With demand rising faster than grid capacity, power availability emerged as one of Europe’s most pressing constraints. Experts noted that securing new grid connections can take up to ten years in mature markets such as London, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam, prompting developers to pursue renewable PPAs, grid-adjacent campuses, and nuclear partnerships. Sustainability was another focal point, with increasing expectations around embodied-carbon reduction, operational efficiency, and regulatory transparency under the EU’s evolving sustainability framework.
From Competition to Collaboration
Another key theme was the shift from competition to collaboration. The once-distinct worlds of carrier, cloud, and colocation are converging as customers seek end-to-end solutions spanning connectivity, compute, and storage. Panelists and participants emphasized that the future of connectivity depends on strategic partnerships among vendors, technology providers, and investors to create the resilient ecosystems required for AI-era infrastructure.
Capacity Europe 2025 reaffirmed that connectivity, cloud, and colocation are no longer parallel industries, they are interdependent pillars of a unified digital ecosystem. The conversations in London underscored that collaboration, scalability, and sustainability will define Europe’s ability to remain competitive in the global digital economy.
The next opportunity to continue this dialogue will be Capacity Middle East co-located with Datacloud Middle East, taking place March 3–6, 2026 in Dubai, followed by International Telecoms Week (ITW) in Washington, D.C., May 10–13, 2026.
To learn more about upcoming events in the Capacity Media portfolio, visit www.capacitymedia.com/events.
