An Interconnectivity Professional’s Tackle Rising Hubs, AI, and Community Resilience in 2025


Digital Infrastructure Business Professional Maya Glick has 20 years within the digital infrastructure and telecommunications sport.

In apply, this has meant promoting and offering networking, web, and knowledge middle options to world firms and telecom operators. Her path consists of strategic planning, marketing strategy preparation, implementation, and operation of main cable initiatives.

As a enterprise growth skilled, she’s seen each facet of the gross sales cycle in worldwide markets. And he or she’s gleaned a factor or two concerning the partnerships and collaborations very important to digital transformation.

As the newest addition to TeleGeography’s roster of Most popular Companions, Maya was variety sufficient to speak with the TeleGeography crew about what she’s seeing within the {industry}—and what introduced her to this second in her profession. Learn our full dialog beneath.

As somebody with a give attention to interconnectivity, what headlines finest summarize what’s taking place in your {industry}?

The telecom and digital infrastructure {industry} is navigating an enchanting interval of transition and opportunity. One main growth is that Synthetic intelligence (AI) has really come of age: as soon as the area of analysis labs and non-profit endeavors, AI now serves as a key driver of company development. Firms across the globe are making severe investments in AI, anticipating a transparent return on their funding and harnessing its potential to rework the whole lot from customer support to predictive analytics. 

With AI’s rise, nonetheless, comes a rising belief dilemma. Individuals are asking laborious questions: how can we be sure that AI techniques are usually not solely efficient but in addition moral, unbiased, and protected from malicious use? Constructing reliable, clear AI options is quickly changing into a prime precedence for each suppliers and end-users.

With AI’s rise, however, comes a rising belief dilemma. Individuals are asking laborious questions: how can we be sure that AI techniques are usually not solely efficient but in addition moral, unbiased, and protected from malicious use? Constructing reliable, clear AI options is quickly changing into a prime precedence for each suppliers and end-users.

In the meantime, the surging vitality calls for of AI are putting knowledge facilities underneath intense stress. As these amenities scramble to deal with ever-increasing computing necessities, many are reevaluating their method to sustainability. This “vitality arms race” is spurring the adoption of greener practices and renewable vitality sources, reflecting an industry-wide push to cut back environmental footprints.

Past the info center, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are reshaping world connectivity by promising broader protection and difficult conventional telecom networks. But, this progress should be balanced towards worries about house particles and the long-term well being of our orbital atmosphere. As extra constellations launch, we’re confronted with the query of easy methods to keep house sustainability whereas increasing protection to underserved areas.

Lastly, there’s a transparent shift towards multi-cloud methods inside enterprises. As an alternative of betting on a single supplier, organizations now combine and match cloud platforms. This method helps them keep away from vendor lock-in, optimize prices, and faucet into specialised providers from completely different suppliers—all of which result in a extra dynamic and aggressive cloud panorama.

Collectively, these 5 tendencies—AI maturation, AI trustworthiness, sustainability in knowledge facilities, the rise of LEO satellites, and multi-cloud adoption—spotlight the {industry}’s drive towards innovation, effectivity, and world connectivity. It’s an thrilling time to be on the forefront of telecom and digital infrastructure.

On the same observe, TeleGeography’s Market Connectivity Rating has given us rather a lot to consider concerning the world’s most related and fast-growing hubs. Are there any rising hubs which have your consideration? Why?

We’re witnessing a outstanding shift in Europe’s connectivity panorama. Traditionally, the key knowledge middle hubs—Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, and Paris (FLAP)—dominated the scene. Now, new interconnection hubs are rising all through Southern Europe—from Marseille and Barcelona to Genoa, Athens, Portugal, and Crete. These areas are leveraging increasing fiber networks, strategic submarine cable routes, and authorities help to carve out a task as very important converging factors for community interconnection, linking a number of continents.

This growth goes hand in hand with the drive for route range, as in the present day’s enterprises more and more insist on a number of geographically distinct paths to make sure excessive availability. Alongside these Southern European hubs, there may be rising curiosity in an Jap Mediterranean gateway that helps bridge Center Jap and Western European networks. Such positioning provides low-latency entry to key markets and a powerful various path for organizations seeking to broaden their attain and mitigate threat.

On this approach, Southern Europe and its neighboring routes are reshaping the connectivity map, creating recent competitors for Europe’s conventional knowledge middle giants and providing new alternatives for seamless communication and knowledge alternate.

Inform us about your early experiences working in worldwide networks. How did these alternatives develop your understanding of the telecom panorama?

I stepped into the telecom world within the late 90s—a pivotal period marked by the privatization of Israel’s telecommunications sector and the worldwide dot-com growth. My first position was as a junior business coordinator, overseeing worldwide submarine and terrestrial routes (IRUs and DDPs) and dealing with community planning and settlements. Again then, it felt nearly futuristic to have a 45Mbps worldwide web connection funneled by way of a satellite tv for pc antenna perched on our workplace rooftop—but it’s beautiful to see how far we’ve come since these days.

Within the early 2000s, I had the chance to assist set up key factors of presence in main markets comparable to London, Frankfurt, and New York, which was instrumental in increasing our voice, knowledge, and IP providers. 

Past these world expansions, I additionally had a hand in constructing bodily cross-border hyperlinks to our neighboring nations within the Center East. This meant forging partnerships with areaal telecom corporations to create new fiber routes and collaborative initiatives.

Engaged on these initiatives gave me a front-row seat to the fast-paced evolution of world connectivity—and it grew to become crystal clear that strong worldwide networks are what really propel enterprise development and innovation throughout borders.

What experiences finest ready you to thrive on this {industry}?

Early on, I discovered myself immersed in business coordination for worldwide routes, and each challenge opened the door to new challenges—managing procurement, overseeing contracts, and sharpening my negotiation expertise. Step-by-step, these duties constructed upon each other, making ready me to navigate the complexities of world telecom operations. Ultimately, that evolution led me to the forefront of initiatives of nationwide significance, comparable to creating submarine cable infrastructure linking Israel and Europe—a possibility that actually showcased the ability of collaboration, strategic planning, and world connectivity.

Thriving in telecom means understanding each the technological points and the human aspect of the enterprise, the place forging lasting partnerships could make all of the distinction.

Working intently with friends from completely different nations taught me the significance of relationship-building, cultural consciousness, and mutual belief to get large-scale connectivity initiatives off the bottom. Thriving in telecom means understanding each the technological points and the human aspect of the enterprise, the place forging lasting partnerships could make all of the distinction.

What new applied sciences are most fun to you as an individual who works within the cloud computing house?

I’m seeing a number of technologies reshape cloud computing proper now. AI and machine studying prime the record in fact, since they’re driving the necessity for specialised knowledge facilities with superior cooling options, all whereas charging the expansion of AI itself. It’s a loop: AI pushes knowledge facilities to be extra environment friendly and safe, after which these optimized knowledge facilities assist AI take new leaps ahead.

I’m seeing a number of technologies reshape cloud computing proper now. AI and machine studying prime the record in fact, since they’re driving the necessity for specialised knowledge facilities with superior cooling options, all whereas charging the expansion of AI itself. It’s a loop: AI pushes knowledge facilities to be extra environment friendly and safe, after which these optimized knowledge facilities assist AI take new leaps ahead.

In the meantime, edge computing is rising in tandem with 5G and the Web of Issues (IoT). By processing knowledge nearer to the customers—like on manufacturing unit flooring or in sensible cities—we minimize down on latency and acquire near-instant insights that may be a game-changer for time-critical functions.

Then there’s quantum computing, which could nonetheless really feel futuristic however has the potential to completely upend how we deal with advanced issues—from encryption and optimization to next-level machine studying. It is nonetheless too early to say when Quantum Computing will turn into a factor in on a regular basis use, however it’s an thrilling subject with big potential to vary the world.

Lastly, photonics brings the promise of utilizing mild to transmit knowledge at blistering speeds with far much less energy consumption. That alone may overhaul how knowledge facilities are constructed and even change the semiconductor {industry} as we all know it.

On the opposite aspect of the coin, what is the single largest problem that interconnectivity professionals should grapple with within the yr forward?

The only largest problem connectivity professionals are bracing for this yr is easy methods to hold networks dependable and secure amid intensifying geopolitical tensions. Whether or not it’s knowledge middle operations or submarine cable routes, we’re seeing an uptick in threats—starting from potential sabotage to sudden regulatory adjustments—that may disrupt essential infrastructure with little warning. Balancing cost-effective options with the necessity for strong, diversified routes has by no means been trickier. The duty now could be to plan for these uncertainties and put money into protecting measures that keep seamless interconnectivity, it doesn’t matter what the worldwide panorama throws our approach.

 

TeleGeography’s Most popular Companions characterize a community of telecom professionals with whom we have collaborated, introduced, shared intel, and mapped main networks. This group is offered to work on particular analysis initiatives that require assets past TeleGeography’s customary product catalog.

To inquire about changing into one among TeleGeography’s Most popular Companions, e mail data@telegeography.com or register your curiosity over right here.