Daniel Beers, senior vice president of global data centre operations at Ardent Data Centers – a global developer of data centre environments for high performance computing and part of the Northern Data Group – addresses why in our AI world businesses should choose to access external computing power via the cloud rather than invest in on-site infrastructure.

The age-old argument of buying versus leasing has plagued organisations for centuries. From the decision to rent an office rather than purchasing the building, to hiring seasonal workers instead of permanent staff, even to signing up for a monthly rather than annual Adobe Photoshop subscription – everyday business is flush with dilemmas regarding the permanence of places, products and services.

Often there’s no clear-cut answer: leaders must consider factors such as payback time, storage space and control over the asset. But in the age of AI, with the technology progressing at a never-before-seen rate, buying participatory tools outright...