Exclusive: Interactive's David Leen on why IT leaders are feeling 'trapped'

"Today's IT leaders aren't just frustrated, they are trapped," says David Leen, Head of Product – Cloud at Interactive.

"They're blind to costs, stuck with inflexible infrastructure and providers, and under pressure to deliver AI outcomes without the right foundation."

It is this stark reality that Interactive is moving to address.

The company believes its Next Generation Private Cloud offers the best of both worlds: the flexibility and scalability of public cloud, but with the sovereignty, cost predictability and control that many enterprises increasingly demand.

During a recent interview with TechDay, Leen explained why public cloud economics are quickly becoming unsustainable for sustained AI workloads.

"Many organisations begin their AI journey in the public cloud – it's a great environment for experimentation and proof-of-concept work. But when those workloads move into production, the economics shift dramatically," he said.

"The sustained, high-performance compute that AI demands can cause costs to balloon, often by three or four times. That's where many AI business cases start to unravel."

Interactive's answer is to deliver the agility of public cloud inside a sovereign, AI-ready environment.

"Our Next Generation Private Cloud is designed to bring the public cloud experience to a sovereign, AI-ready environment, giving customers the control, predictability and performance they need to innovate with confidence," Leen explained. "We're delivering elastic, scalable and automated infrastructure, but within an environment that gives customers the transparency they've been missing."

Cooling and power are part of the challenge.

"With GPU-heavy racks now consuming 120 to 130 kilowatts, and Nvidia predicting a megawatt per rack in the next few years, the future is liquid cooling, whether chip or immersion," Leen said. "We're investing in advanced cooling strategies because AI workloads are power-intensive."

He also warns of less obvious expenses. "There's a hidden cost to AI: licensing. Many organisations are paying for embedded AI features across their software stack without visibility into usage or ROI. Without governance, these costs quietly accumulate. We're helping customers bring clarity to that landscape," he said.

Research from ADAPT shows that 25% of organisations are already repatriating workloads due to cost, compliance and control concerns, with 69% investing in cost optimisation but only 36% linking spend to business value.

"Hybrid and multi-cloud complexity is increasing," the report notes, while rising governance and sovereignty pressures are driving targeted reversals.

For Leen, the challenge is both technical and cultural. "There's a skills gap," he said. "Some customers simply don't have expertise in what's now required. Networks today are like Swiss Army knives – they're not just switches, they're firewalls, gateways, all in one. But the skill sets haven't kept up. That's where we step in."

Interactive is positioning itself as a long-term trusted partner rather than a transactional supplier. "Agility needs to work both ways – not just scaling up but also scaling down when needed. That's where trust is built in flexibility, transparency and shared accountability," Leen said.

The company's credentials are solid. Privately owned and Australian-operated, Interactive runs data centres across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and partners with major providers such as Microsoft and Cisco.

"Microsoft is probably our biggest partner. Cisco would also be in our top two. On the hardware side, Cisco is strong in compute, storage has historically been NetApp, but we also work with others like Pure and CrowdStrike. We always give customers a Microsoft answer and an alternative, whether that's Splunk, Netskope or others," Leen said.

The provider's customer base spans financial services, superannuation funds, professional services and manufacturing. "It's a real mix," Leen said. "We work with everyone from a mid-size manufacturer through to enterprise customers, which is why we now have around 2,500 clients. That spread is a big part of who we are."

A recent case study shows how Interactive is applied in practice. Hollard Insurance was forced to move quickly after its managed service provider shut down several data centres. "They needed a new home fast. We advised and guided them, supported their public cloud-first strategy, and migrated them to VMware solutions in weeks, not months. They were a very happy customer," Leen said.

The company employs 650 people across Australia, with engineering making up the majority of the workforce. "Predominantly, we're engineering-led. I'd say three quarters of our people are engineers," Leen said. Staff loyalty is unusually strong.

"It's quite common to see people here for three, five, 10, even 20 years. Employee number three actually retired only last year after 35 years."

That stability is critical as Interactive invests in new skills for the AI era. "AI infrastructure isn't just about GPUs. It's about power, cooling, and the engineers who make it all work. That's why we're rethinking our workforce, bringing in mechanical and electrical engineering talent to support next-gen cooling like immersion and liquid-to-chip," Leen said.

"Australia has a chance to lead in AI infrastructure, but only if we close the digital skills gap. That's why we're investing in our people, our partners and our platform."

For Leen, the future is about trust as much as technology.

"Being a trusted service provider today goes far beyond managing IT costs," he said. "It's about delivering real value in a world where IT leaders are under pressure from every direction. IT isn't just a cost centre anymore; it's a strategic enabler."

"That's the role we're stepping into with our Next Generation Private Cloud - to give customers the control, consistency and partnership they need to navigate what's next."