In a time where the creation and consumption of data increases at an unprecedented rate, the world of data centres is changing. Industry leaders anticipate a move in the opposite direction, toward smaller, more nimble substitutes. This is all a mystery despite the open and continuous building of thousands of new large-scale data centres globally. Perplexity’s CEO, Aravind Srinivas, believes smartphones and other devices are going to make traditional data centres unnecessary. Today, when users ask AIs questions from their smartphones, the answers are pulled from these enormous storage complexes.
Industry experts like Amanda Brock, head of the business organization OpenUK, foresee a future where processing power migrates to handheld devices, set-top boxes, or even home routers. This change would go a long way to countering one of the biggest critiques against massive data centres—namely their huge energy and water use. There are now around 100 new data centres under construction in the UK alone. This increase is a testament to the ever-increasing demand for data services.
Mark Bjornsgaard highlights London’s potential as a future data hub, stating, “London is just one giant data centre that hasn’t been built yet.” His claim points to a growing faith. A lot of us believe that the next era in data storage and processing will focus on smaller, more distributed solutions.
Technology companies are pumping billions to construct huge data centers around the world. As a consequence, companies are opting for bespoke enterprise AI more than ever over one-size-fits-all alternatives. Dr. Sasha Luccioni, AI and climate lead at machine-learning firm Hugging Face, comments on this shift: “We are already seeing a paradigm switch between large models taking huge resources to smaller models being more bespoke and running more locally and tailored to business uses.”
Jonathan Evans, director of consultancy firm Total Data Centre Solutions, is one of those who hold the same belief. He underscores that it’s a long-term, strategic question of “if and when” transformative, robust and super-efficient AI will truly run on local devices. There is agreement among experts that there is an increasing appetite for interest in smaller “edge” data centres located closer to dense populations. Such a model would help mitigate latency, improving response times for users.
The idea of miniaturized data centres isn’t just a pipe dream. In Devon, UK, a small data centre was just turned on last month. It’s about the size of a washing machine. This innovation is the latest example of a move to more scaled-down and energy-saving technology. In November 2025, a British couple made headlines by heating their home with a small data centre housed in their garden shed.
Even with this enthusiasm for the success of our smaller systems, there are still challenges. Prof. Alan Woodward offers a counterargument: “The counter argument here is that small targets have less impact if they are penetrated.” This naturally brings up the questions of whether or not they are secure, and the impacts of leaning on less robust infrastructures.
Moreover, Avi Shabtai, CEO of Ramon Space, imagines even more progress made through technologies from space. He notes that “space offers a unique opportunity to rethink data structure,” suggesting that small, scalable data centres in orbit could deliver unparalleled efficiency, performance, and flexibility.
In paraphrasing Brock, there is a practical imperative to move processing capability to smaller devices. She states that “processing will move to a handheld device, or a set-top box, or a router in your home,” indicating a clear direction for future technological development.
As the industry continues to advance, experts are cautiously optimistic about the future of smaller data centres. Amanda Brock warns that “the data centre myth will be a bubble that will burst over time.” Her testimony points to some of the larger trends that are unsustainable and that threaten the long-term viability of current practices in data storage and processing.