Connect | New York 2025

As the ascent of liquid cooling reshapes the cooling landscape, the conversation has shifted from 'if' to 'when'. Yet, with organizations slow to embrace this transformative technology, questions remain. Is the sheer variety of liquid cooling solutions, such as cold plate, immersion, and GPU-specific designs, creating decision paralysis? Are alternatives being overlooked in the race to redefine efficiency? Could pay-as-you-go models like 'Cooling as a Service' be the key to bridging adoption gaps? This panel will address the hurdles slowing adoption, the impact on the broader industry, and the innovative business models that could drive change. Join us to listen about:

• Industry indecisiveness: Unpacking the challenges slowing adoption and its ripple effects on industry progress.
• Cooling as a Service: Exploring how CaaS can reduce energy consumption and operational costs.
• Overwhelmed by options: Is the abundance of liquid cooling designs a help or hindrance to decision-making?

The data center industry is under growing pressure to meet increasing energy demands while committing to long-term sustainability. Nuclear power offers an attractive solution, with its ability to deliver reliable, low-carbon energy. States like New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania already have the infrastructure and regulatory frameworks needed to make nuclear power a key part of the industry’s future, opening the doors for investors and data centers alike.

However, the path to full adoption of nuclear power will take time, leaving many to continue to struggle for power. In the interim, new sources of energy and bridging these energy solutions will be essential to ensure the resiliency and reliability of data centers long enough to gain the benefits of nuclear power. This panel will examine the future of alternative energy while addressing practical strategies for managing today's energy needs and tomorrow's energy transition. Join the discussion to explore:

• The current landscape: Progress in SMRs and other nuclear advancements.
• Bridging the gap: Viable interim energy solutions for data centers.
• Collaborative opportunities: Can data centers support the wider power grid?
• Running out of alternatives: If nuclear power is not the answer, what's next?

As AI is revolutionizing data center management, promising unprecedented efficiency, cost savings and operational reliability. With AI systems now fine-tuning many processes, optimizing resource usage, and anticipating maintenance needs, the potential for seamless operations is undeniable. Yet, this transformation raises critical questions: are we placing too much trust in AI? What safeguards are needed to ensure human oversight remains central? And how should management strategies evolve to maximize AI’s benefits without sidelining the human workforce?

This panel delves into the transformative power of AI in data center operations, exploring both its promises and its challenges.

• Operational optimization: Real-world examples of AI reducing energy consumption, cutting costs, and boosting performance.
• Proactive maintenance: How AI detects issues before they arise, minimizing downtime and disruption.
• The human factor: Examining AI's role in workload distribution and the evolving responsibilities of operational teams.

As enterprises increasingly spread workloads across on-premises data centers, colocation facilities, and the cloud, the complexity of hybrid IT management is escalating. Balancing operational efficiency with security, scalability, compliance, and supply chain resilience requires new approaches and new tools.

How can enterprises ensure seamless integration and performance across these disparate environments? What strategies are emerging to tackle evolving security risks, ensure regulatory compliance, and address the challenges of scaling hybrid IT?

This session will delve into the management and operational strategies that data centers must adopt to navigate this fragmented landscape. Learn about:

• Unified operations: Best practices for managing workloads seamlessly across on-prem, off-prem, colocation, and cloud environments.
• Security in complexity: Strategies to mitigate risks in hybrid IT setups, including advanced threat detection and zero-trust frameworks.
• Scaling smartly: How can scalability and agility be secured without compromising performance or budget?