Entries Open for Data Centre World Awards 2026: Five Reasons to Take Part

The countdown is on for the Data Centre World Awards 2026, with entries open for less than four weeks to spotlight excellence in design, sustainability and operations.

Held annually at Data Centre World London (part of Tech Show London at Excel), the Awards celebrate the projects, technologies and teams shaping the future of the sector.

Five Reasons to Enter

Gain Industry Recognition

Winning a Data Centre World Award places organisations alongside leading names in the global data centre community and acknowledges standout leadership and achievement.

Showcase Success

From cutting-edge technology to sustainability initiatives, entries spotlight measurable progress in efficiency, resilience and operational excellence.

Build Valuable Connections

The Awards convene decision-makers and innovators from across the ecosystem, creating opportunities for collaboration, knowledge-sharing and new business.

Celebrate Your Team

Recognition on an international stage highlights the people behind the work — boosting morale, supporting talent attraction and reinforcing a culture of excellence.

Stay Ahead of the Curve

The Data Centre World Awards are a signal of industry leadership in a fast-evolving landscape — demonstrating how organisations are setting the pace, not following it.

What the Judges Look for

Reflecting on the 2025 submissions, the Data Centre World Awards judges emphasised clarity, evidence and impact across entries, qualities they believe will continue to define excellence in 2026:

Measurable results and purpose. “What stood out across the best submissions was a focus on measurable results, practical scale, and a sharp understanding of end-user impact,” said Peter Zanatta, Managing Director at Attanz Limited and Data Centre World Awards judge.

Sustainability as standard. “Sustainability ran through the winning applications this year, even if they were applying for categories that were not Sustainability based. It’s good to see that this is part of the general approach on best practice,” said Astrid Wynne, Sustainability Lead at TechBuyer and Data Centre World Awards judge.

Innovation with substance. “I enjoyed seeing some good uses for AI, and not just frivolous AI. For example, data centre optimisation, condition-based monitoring and predictive analytics – all save energy and money!” said Venessa Moffat, Channel Executive Director at the DCA and Data Centre World Awards judge.

Read the brief and build for the 21st century. “All the entries I judged last year were excellent, but the winners were those that read the brief, provided great descriptions of what they were about and more importantly, perhaps didn’t just copy and pasted other content in their submission,” said John Booth, Managing Director of Carbon3IT and Data Centre World Awards judge.

Highlights From 2025 Winners

Recent award recipients illustrate the breadth of excellence recognised Data Centre World:

EkkoSense — Special Contribution to Improving Energy Efficiency, for AI-powered optimisation delivering significant CO₂ reductions.

Vantage Data Centers — Most Successfully Delivered Data Centre, for on-time, on-budget delivery with exemplary safety performance.

Atos — Green Data Centre of the Year, for integrated design and operational practices cutting global energy use.

Leil Storage — Environmental Product of the Year, for power-efficient storage that reduces emissions while maintaining performance.

Finchetto — Innovation Product of the Year, for an optical passive network switch targeting ultra-low power and latency at scale.

World Humanitarian Support Foundation — Special Contribution to Improving Resilience Through Innovation, for redefining resilience through the human factor — combining skills development and sustainability-led technologies to strengthen community impact.

RiT Tech — AI Excellence Award, for focused enhancements to DCIM capabilities.

Additional category winners in 2025 included CBRE (Best Data Centre Operator), Redcentric plc (Best Reuse or Recycling), Pure DC (Security Tech Award), AdaniConneX (Technology Product of the Year) and Colt Data Centre Services (Best Talent Developer).

How to Enter

Those interested in taking part can browse the full list of award categories on the Data Centre World website.

To participate, organisations should submit their entry form and supporting materials online before the entry deadline on 10 November 2025.

Winners will be announced live at Data Centre World London 2026, part of Tech Show London at Excel London.