Facility complexity is increasing, and the long‑standing split between facility management and digital systems is becoming a constraint. Manual, siloed models struggle to manage power, efficiency, and resilience at high density, raising the question of whether a unified control layer is now essential. The real issue is not ideology but capability: who builds it, who runs it, and what value it actually delivers. Key discussion questions include:

• Are data center builds reaching a coordination ceiling under current delivery models?
• How can connected intelligence scale scarce engineering expertise?
• How do constrained power and permitting reshape the decision model?
• What delivery context is required before trusting autonomous operations?