The UK government has officially designated data centres as critical national infrastructure (CNI), putting them on par with essential sectors like water and energy. This classification aims to enhance protection against cyber attacks, environmental disasters, and IT outages, as highlighted by recent incidents such as the CrowdStrike outage that disrupted health services. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle emphasized that this move will foster better coordination between the government and data centre operators, helping to ensure the resilience of vital services, including the NHS and financial systems. The decision is expected to reassure companies investing in data centres, with significant investments already announced by Amazon Web Services and others. Although no immediate new regulations will be imposed, the government plans to introduce a Cyber Security and Resilience Bill later this year. Experts believe that this designation reflects the growing importance of data centres in the digital economy, driven by the increasing demand for computing power, particularly from AI services.