Data Center Capex Tracker – 2H25

Vladimir Galabov

Senior Research Director, Enterprise Infrastructure

Vlad is responsible for the enterprise infrastructure teams at Omdia, including the cloud and data center research practice and the cybersecurity research practice. He guides the teams’ research strategy and produces research with a focus on disruptive trends, such as infrastructure upgrades necessary to enable broad adoption of AI, as well as the impact of AI on the enterprise infrastructure stack.

Vlad joined Omdia, formerly IHS Markit Technology, in 2016. He assumed the responsibility for the cloud and data center research practice in 2021, developing many of its unique, industry-leading technical analyses, including its flagship “single source of truth” data center capex and capacity model. He held senior positions at Intel and Ciena, where his data-led insights served as a central input into the companies’ strategies. Key market models he developed include an in-depth analysis of telecommunications network operations costs, a PC inventory tracker, and an actionable IoT market forecast. Vlad’s work has even facilitated decision-making in the British Parliament. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and management from Aston University, the UK.

Shen Wang

Principal Analyst, Data Center Power & Cooling Systems

Wang Shen is a principal analyst in Omdia, Informa Tech. He has been responsible for the consulting and custom studies in data center tech areas, and now he leads the data center physical infrastructure, thermal management, and sustainability research practice.

Prior to joining IHS Markit (Now as Omdia) in 2017, Wang Shen worked at eldoLED B.V. in the Netherlands as technical application manager on smart power electronic products. Before that, he developed smart conceptual electronic products at Philips Research in Eindhoven, he published technical papers on international journals, and hold several patents.

In the meantime, Shen was also a technical translator and reviewer for industrial publishing houses, and also a columnist for industry medias, he has successfully conducted many research cases, and often gives speeches at data center power & sustainability related conferences or seminars and quoted by industry medias.

Shen earned an MSc (Ir.) degree in Sustainable Energy Technology from Technische Universiteit Eindhoven and a BSc degree in Electric Engineering & Automation from Fudan University.

Manoj Sukumaran

Principal Analyst, Data center IT

Manoj is Omdia’s data center computing and networking expert. He covers trailblazing technologies such as processors that enable the programmability of compute and networking hardware, edge computing, composable infrastructure, and the adoption of open compute hardware. He has over 15 years of experience in engineering and financial services, consulting, and research.

Before joining Omdia, Manoj was the founder and director of QWave India, a hardware engineering services company that specializes in designing data center hardware for clients such as Facebook and LinkedIn. His team delivered Facebook’s first three open compute switches, pioneering the bare metal switching technology that has revolutionized the data center. He also worked on the architecture and design of Open19’s first switch and server. Manoj has also held senior positions in financial services, consulting, and media companies. He holds two bachelor’s degrees—one in physics and one in information technology—and an MBA from India’s Mahatma Gandhi University.

Alan Howard

Principal Analyst, Colocation and DC Building

Alan focuses on cloud and colocation service provider markets and covers service revenues, data center locations and new construction, and the distribution of data center capex. Coverage includes current service provider revenue performance, service offering trends and insights, and data center construction and expansion.

Alan has more than 30 years of experience in the information technology industry, serving in technical, marketing, research, and business management roles. He is frequently invited to speak at conferences and advise on colocation, data center, and cloud markets and strategies. Prior to joining Omdia, he was vice president and chief researcher for Wired Real Estate Group, a data center advisory firm. Alan was responsible for consulting with investors, investment banks, data center operators, real estate owners, and enterprises to assist with market assessments and strategy.