Traditional data centers inadequate according to half of EMEA IT leaders as AI and energy demands collide

A new survey from Lenovo shows that data center design must evolve to future-proof operations in EMEA. Traditional data centers are no longer sufficient to effectively power AI tools or meet growing sustainability and compliance demands. Almost half (46 percent) of IT leaders surveyed say their current infrastructure does not support their organization’s energy or climate goals.

Meanwhile, 99 percent of IT leaders and management teams in the region say data sovereignty, the control over where data is collected, stored and processed, will be critical in the coming years. And while AI continues to drive data volumes across all industries, many organizations still struggle to implement the technology effectively or sustainably, highlighting a growing gap between digital ambition and infrastructure reality.

Lenovo conducted the study Data Center of the Future in collaboration with the analysis company Opinion, to map the factors shaping the data center of the future from the perspectives of design, technology and geography. The study is published at a time when the data center market is growing rapidly, while energy consumption, sustainability and cost are becoming increasingly critical issues for IT decision-makers in EMEA.

Sustainability gaps require a new approach

92 percent of IT decision-makers prioritize technology partners that actively reduce energy use and carbon footprint, but only 46 percent believe their current data center design supports sustainability goals. This underscores the increasing environmental burden from AI, automation and exponential data growth where traditional air cooling systems struggle to balance efficiency, cost and climate impact.

Data sovereignty is crucial for the 99 percent

88 percent of IT managers already see data sovereignty as a priority today, and almost all (99 percent) expect it to remain critical over the next five years. Meanwhile, 94 percent say low latency is a key factor now and in the future, driven by real-time applications and edge computing that require high performance and minimal latency.

Large-scale AI is shaping the data center of the future

90 percent of IT decision-makers believe that AI will significantly increase data usage over the next decade, and 62 percent believe that AI and automation will have the biggest impact on their IT strategies. Despite the potential, 41 percent admit that their organization is not yet ready to effectively integrate AI.

”The data center of the future will be defined by how effectively it can scale for AI, meet sustainability goals, and operate with maximum energy efficiency,” says Simone Larsson, Head of Enterprise AI, EMEA at Lenovo.
”As demand for computing power increases, customers will seek infrastructure partners that deliver performance without compromise while taking responsibility for reducing environmental impact. In EMEA, data sovereignty is becoming a particularly pressing issue, shaped by complex regulations and increased attention from both CIOs and management teams. Businesses must act now to adapt their infrastructure to these growing demands, because the future is shaped by the decisions they make today.”

About the survey

The study Data Center of the Future based on research from Opinion, ordered by Lenovo, and includes 250 IT decision-makers in companies with at least 250 employees in Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Data collection was carried out in August 2025.