Thanks to our obsession with digital living, data centres are in high demand. London s Docklands area, the UK s biggest data hub, is running out of capacity, creating a prime opportunity for Scotland to take control of the market. Organisations are actively seeking new locations outside the capital. Scotland must compete with the Midlands and the north of England before it s too late.  Unless the SNP Government and Scottish Enterprise fight our corner now, we will watch as the rest of the UK reaps the benefits. Not only would they bring in jobs, data centres would attract inward investment and consolidate our technical skills.  and it shouldn t be a hard sell. Not only does Scotland benefit from open spaces, secure and remote locations and cheaper land, it also boasts renewable power sources to excite the data-centre industry, which consumes 2% of the world s electricity.  In the US, Yahoo! and Google are leading the way by locating their data centres near sources of hydro power, while Microsoft has signed a contract to buy wind power for its data centre in Dublin.  If Ireland can do it, SDI should be shouting louder about our resources and securing investment.  Scotland s cooler climate enables data centres to battle another problem: wasted power. according to IT analyst Gartner, energy is the fastest-rising cost in data centres and much of it is for cooling. New technology, which uses fresh air, means that Scottish data centres would benefit from free cooling for much of the year, cutting costs.  More visible support for data centres would be a mark of the Government s intent to strengthen Scotland s recovery.  Future generations should not be left to question why we didn t secure this anchor for a truly digital Scotland when we had the chance.  John Smykala is managing director of RMD Power & Cooling