John
O'Brien
Data center operators are increasingly aware that their operational technology systems are vulnerable to cyberattacks. Recent incident reports show a rise in ransomware attacks, which pose significant risks to data centers
John O'Brien
John is Uptime Institute’s Senior Research Analyst for Cloud and Software Automation. As a technology industry analyst for over two decades, John has been analyzing the impact of cloud migration, modernization and optimization for the past decade. John covers hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure, sustainability, and emerging AIOps, DataOps and FinOps practices.
jobrien@uptimeinstitute.com
Latest Research
Ransomware incidents on OT equipment surge
Seven fallacies of data center cybersecurity
Cybersecurity has traditionally not been a key focus of attention for data center operators. But cyber incidents are on the rise and concerns are growing. Unaddressed vulnerabilities leave operators at increasing risk from evolving threats.
Cybersecurity and the cost of human error
Rose
Weinschenk
Human error is an increasingly exploited weakness by cyberattackers, leading to data center security breaches and greater risk for enterprises and operators.
REPLAY | European cybersecurity regulation and its impact on digital infrastructures
Antonio
Ramos
European cybersecurity regulations have become effective and will have a major impact on both critical infrastructures and their cybersecurity management. This webinar will discuss the NIS2 Directive, the European Union’s updated cybersecurity…
Digital twins: reshaping AI infrastructure planning
Digital twins are increasingly valued in complex data center applications, such as designing and managing facilities for AI infrastructure. Digitally testing and simulating scenarios can reduce risk and cost, but many challenges remain.
DeepSeek bans: implications for data centers
Chinese large language model DeepSeek has shown that state of the art generative AI capability may be possible at a fraction of the cost previously thought.
Agentic AI shows promise – but also carries risk
Agentic AI offers enormous potential to the data center industry over the next decade. But are the benefits worth the inevitable risks?
AI infrastructure ambitions will be cut down to size
Daniel
Bizo
Operators and investors are planning to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on supersized sites and vast supporting infrastructures. However, increasing constraints and uncertainties will limit the scale of these build outs.
Data center management software: the evolving role of DCIM
Data center infrastructure management software is widely used but rarely utilized at full potential. Adopting the latest capabilities and optimizations could achieve better resiliency and efficiency.
Are data centers on top of NIS 2 cyber compliance?
The EU’s NIS 2 directive requires all organizations operating in Europe to comply with 10 essential cybersecurity measures, but many data center operators remain unprepared.
Data center management software: optimizing the IT
As operators expand their use of hybrid IT and cloud, optimizing the IT could help alleviate concerns over availability and efficiency. This report is part two of a four-part series on data center management software.
Hyperscale data center plans at unsustainable levels
The number of proposals for new hyperscale-size data centers have reached new heights in 2024. Those that are built will require huge investment and resources — but many proposals will fail to move forward.
Data center management and control software: an overview
Software for data center management and control is well established, if not always widely used. Some operators are also benefitting from integrated facility and IT software.
Will legislation change how finance uses public cloud?
Uptime analysis suggests a growing interest in public cloud by financial institutions. But concerns over cloud providers’ support for regulation compliance ahead of the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act may cause some to pull back.
Pulling IT power data with software
Pulling reliable power consumption data from IT is increasingly important for operators. Although third-party software products offer promise, significant roadblocks still hinder adoption.
