By Pedro Henrique Fragoso
CEO, Tecto Data Centres
The year 2024 was a watershed year for the data centre industry worldwide, due to the growth in cloud adoption and applications, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). It was also an important year for the sector in Brazil, with major advances in two strategic pillars: Brazil gained traction on the world map for attracting investment in data centres and the public sphere committed itself to moving forward with crucial discussions that will allow incentives for the development of the national digital infrastructure.
Looking ahead to 2025, I see a growing demand for edge and hyperscale data centres in the various regions of the country. Edge, which allows proximity to end consumers for lower latency applications, and Hyperscale, or core, to serve the main ?availability zones? of cloud companies in major centres. In this second model, Brazil also stands out as an excellent candidate to receive part of the global demand for processing (e.g. Machine Learning), which should be boosted this year.
Regarding advances in the use of AI, we expect two potential impacts, considering recent debates at a global level. The first is that, as the industry matures, there will be gains in efficiency ? a natural evolution for all sectors ? ultimately resulting in an increase in the adoption of AI services. Despite the (in)conclusions of the most recent DeepSeek episode, the possibility of this efficiency gain appearing sooner than expected ? and consequently its effects on the size of the market as a whole ? is increasing. The second is that, as adoption of the technology grows, the emphasis on edge computing is likely to increase, since inference, which involves the use of AI models trained to provide real-time insights, requires proximity between end users and data centres to guarantee a better experience when using applications.
It is important to say that this infrastructure of edge data centres distributed across regions far from the major centres also arrives as a solution to overcome regional challenges, such as connectivity and digitalisation bottlenecks, offering a path to economic growth and greater accessibility to IT services.
When we look at sustainability, the generation of renewable energy and the use of efficient cooling techniques will become increasingly crucial as technologies advance and data processing demands more energy. One of the solutions to this issue is liquid cooling, a cooling method that helps deal with the increased density of equipment and dissipates heat more efficiently, reducing energy consumption and optimising operational efficiency. The new generation of data centres is already moving in this direction, or at the very least offering this flexibility.
In addition to technological advances, the data centre sector plays a key role in Brazil?s economic development by attracting investment, generating jobs and fostering innovation. A robust digital infrastructure drives the digitalisation of diverse industries, such as finance, health, agribusiness and manufacturing, which together with advances in connectivity and cloud computing creates many opportunities for national and global companies.
The scenario is positive, and we are making great strides, but we face challenges as a ?country?, which include the complexity of licensing and regulatory processes, legal uncertainty due to frequent changes in legislation, high tax costs, especially for imported equipment, and economic and political instability that impacts the business environment. With public policies that reduce bureaucratic and tax costs, the country will have a (good) chance of consolidating itself as a global data centre hub.
