The Belgian data center market is facing rising energy demand, AI-driven infrastructure requirements, pressure to improve sustainability, and concerns about digital sovereignty. Silvie Bullen, Account Manager for Belgium and Luxembourg at R&M (pictured left), and Carole Santens, Managing Director of the Belgian Digital Infrastructure Association, share their perspectives on these developments. They discuss the impact of AI, energy capacity, collaboration, and Belgium’s position within the evolving European data landscape, where sovereignty, regulation, and the local ecosystem are becoming increasingly important.
What attracted you to this sector?
Silvie Bullen, Account Manager for Belgium and Luxembourg at R&M: I began my career in 1995 at the European Commission before moving to the telecommunications sector, where I worked for various companies. I spent several years at Belgacom, most of that time as a Senior Product Sales Specialist for voice products serving key customers. After 17 years, I decided it was time for a change. Ultimately, I wanted to return to more technically oriented work, because that’s always been my true interest. That fascination has been with me since my childhood. My brothers share it too, so it’s clearly in the family. I joined R&M a year and a half ago, and I’m really enjoying it.
Carole Santens, Managing Director of the BDIA: I have been Managing Director of the Belgian Digital Infrastructure Association for two years now. Before that, I worked in the media at Data News, an IT magazine with a strong reputation and a well-established event portfolio. Friso Haringsma of Data Centre United, who is also a co-founder and chairman of the BDIA, was one of my clients. At one point, he asked me if I’d like to join the association.
When I told my team that I would be leaving the publication after ten years to enter the data center world, they were quite shocked. Their reaction was: “That’s so boring—nothing but bald old men!” But it’s not boring at all. On the contrary, since 2023 I’ve actually noticed an exciting acceleration, and the sector is evolving rapidly. I genuinely enjoy working with the data center and digital infrastructure community. I find sustainability particularly interesting, because it’s an issue that the sector and the broader ecosystem simply have to address—and on which they need to demonstrate tangible results.
The BDIA is also growing very quickly. When I started, we had fewer than 20 partners. Today, there are 85. This clearly shows that there is a great deal of interest in Belgium from a broad group of stakeholders in being involved in the next phase of development and building on the momentum we currently have.
Where have you seen the biggest changes in recent years? What are the most important trends and developments, both from a technological perspective and in terms of the market and end users?
Silvie Bullen: The biggest changes are clearly taking place around AI and the broader shift from voice to data technology.
If you look at structured cabling, for example, we’re seeing demand for much higher density, flexibility, and AI readiness. AI makes cabling a strategic issue: AI clusters require ultra-low latency, very high bandwidth, direct GPU-to-GPU communication, and migration paths toward 400/800G networks. Traditional data center connectivity is therefore no longer sufficient. The answer lies in modular, integrated, high-density cabling and connectivity—including scalable, fiber-rich designs and preconfigured, future-proof infrastructure. This enables data center operators to roll out and expand AI environments more quickly without the need for extensive re-cabling.
At the same time, the integration of copper and fiber optics, along with a modular approach to components, is becoming increasingly important. Data center designers and operators want the freedom to combine technologies and build integrated solutions that best meet their needs.
Carole Santens: From a technological standpoint, the shift toward AI has been the most significant development of the past three years. Belgium may not be home to the largest AI facilities, but AI is clearly changing the data center landscape here as well.
We’re seeing that workloads with increasingly higher energy density are driving the need for different cooling methods. Rising rack density is also bringing about major changes. At the same time, colocation is growing, forcing both new construction projects and existing facilities to rethink how they’re planned and scaled up.
