NEWS
Linesight ’ s latest UK and Europe construction report urges stronger supply chain management in 2025 in longer lead times for essential equipment required to cool and operate data centre facilities .
In the UK , data centre investment is surging because of rising global demand for processing capacity driven by AI and the government ’ s recent announcement of its intention to designate data centres as critical national infrastructure in September 2024 .
Linesight advises that maintaining strong , collaborative partnerships with suppliers will help secure a reliable supply chain , mitigate risks of disruption and enable consistent lead times . Enhancing demand forecasts for supply chains can also mitigate the risk of capacity shortages and ensure timely access to the production line .
Data centre developers are being warned of potential longer lead times in 2025 for cooling equipment and rising copper prices . The latest Construction Market Insights Report from global consultant , Linesight , says that growth in infrastructure , industrial , energy and data centre sectors is helping to sustain momentum in the industry .
However , the report warns that supply chains will need expert management in 2025 as supplier capacity pressures could result
Despite pressures , the report , which draws on Linesight ’ s own market intelligence as well as internationally recognised sources of data , predicts that most countries in Europe are expected to see growth in construction output in 2025 . The exceptions are the UK and Denmark , which are expected to see a marginal decline , and Italy with a more pronounced contraction of over 8 %. This can be attributed to subdued business and consumer confidence , elevated interest rates and rising labour costs .
French mobile industry accelerates deployment of network APIs through GSMA Open Gateway Initiative
France ’ s four leading mobile operators –
Bouygues Telecom , Free , Orange and SFR – have announced they will join forces to provide services designed to help app developers and enterprises tackle online fraud and protect the digital identities of mobile customers as part of the global GSMA Open Gateway initiative .
The operators are launching two network Application Programmable Interfaces ( APIs ) for the French market – KYC Match and SIM Swap – developed to the new CAMARA standard which aims to align specifications across mobile operators .
France is the first country in the world where all four major operators are launching the API called KYC Match , which strengthens how online businesses can verify new customer ’ s identities . Several of the operators are also making Number Verification available to the developer community .
France has seen a 37 % increase in online transactions since the Covid pandemic , totalling € 2.35 billion in 2023 , with 77 % of these taking place over mobile devices . But alongside this , 80 % of French companies say they experienced online fraud attempts with 45 % stating that online fraud has increased over the last 12 months . The number of digital identity theft cases has risen by 40 % over the past four years according to figures from the French Ministry of Interior . These new APIs will help protect consumers ’ mobile identities by adding an additional layer of defence against fraudsters .
14 INTELLIGENTCIO EUROPE www . intelligentcio . com