DCW 2025 Sessions On-Demand

Scott Data (SD), a colocation operator since 2006, began its AI journey after Bill Kleyman's 2023 DCW keynote highlighted AI's emergence and the challenges colos face supporting AI GPU power and cooling requirements.

This presentation covers the timeline and lessons learned transitioning from traditional colocation to AI services. Driven by customer demand for GPUs and AI workloads, SD developed strategic partnerships to execute an AI proof-of-concept, navigate design complexities, and validate the business case for GPU-as-a-Service and High-Performance Colocation offerings.

As global data center demands rise, fostering strong relationships with local community stakeholders is not only beneficial – but essential for sustainable success. This session brings together industry leaders to discuss the critical role of involving and collaborating with community stakeholders throughout the entire lifecycle of a data center, from the early feasibility studies through ongoing operations. Our panelists, representing key perspectives in design, development, and operations, will share their insights on how thoughtful community collaboration drives better outcomes. Real-world case studies will highlight successful engagement strategies, lessons learned, and how these professionals would refine their approach for future projects.

In today's fast-evolving energy landscape, AI and automation are transforming the way we manage and optimize energy systems. This session provides an in-depth look at how AI technologies are reshaping traditional workflows by automating repetitive tasks and boosting operational efficiency, resilience, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability. Attendees will discover practical applications of AI, such as expediting energy management system (EMS) configurations, improving decision-making with integrated AI engines like GPT, accelerating load flow analysis, and more. From predictive maintenance in electrical infrastructure to demand forecasting and optimized load distribution, we'll explore how AI and automation are driving innovation across the energy sector. Learn about how organizations of all sizes can leverage AI to enhance efficiency, cut costs, and stay ahead in the competitive world of energy engineering.

Adaptive Reuse, employed by the real estate industry for decades, repurposes existing industrial, logistics, commercial and corporate sites for data center use. All of the initial carrier hotels were Adaptive Reuse projects–such as 350 Cermak, 1 Wilshire, 111 8th, 400 S. Akard, and 529 Bryant–but the practice has been falling by the wayside. However, with today's energy and land availability challenges, plus AI's new power density demands, Adaptive Reuse is resurging as a way to reduce time-to-revenue AND achieve massive sustainability impact vis-a-vis circularity. Hear real world examples from marquee data center provider executives and key tips and tricks. This panel will feature three use cases of Adaptive Reuse as a build strategy.

This panel will address will address local power supply challenges for data centers due to both power resource adequacy and transmission constraints in the grid, based on regional grid planning sources. Solutions for providing grid and off-grid power to data centers as microgrids will be shared. Also featured will be a case study on SMR for Data Centers as microgrids using actual cost and performance data from a supercomputer facility, with a scenario for power from a micro-reactor integrated with renewables and storage.

Panelists will give details from a scoping study modeling and analyzing the National Petascale Computing Facility (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign).

Join us for an exclusive first look at revolutionary data center technologies being developed by elite research teams backed by ARPA-E, the Department of Energy's advanced research agency, with $42 million in dedicated funding. This groundbreaking panel marks the first public unveiling of cutting-edge innovations that will define the future of data centers, featuring diverse approaches from unique teams tackling moonshot objectives to achieve both unprecedented performance gains and dramatic energy savings. Discover the breakthrough technologies that major infrastructure providers will be implementing in the coming years and gain insider access to the research that's making the impossible possible.

Ready to dive into the world of modern data centers? This isn't a typical Data Center 101 session—get ready to build a data center together, from blueprint to go-live. Everything will be covered: key terms, design challenges, and the business behind running top-tier facilities.

But here's the twist: AI, GPUs, and next-gen power will be in the mix. Learn how hydrogen fuel cells and nuclear energy are reshaping the way data centers are powered, making them more sustainable and resilient than ever.

Whether a newcomer or a seasoned pro, this interactive masterclass delivers all the tools needed to tackle today's most exciting infrastructure projects.

As the demand for data center capacity continues to rise, so does the urgency to adopt sustainable energy solutions. This panel will explore how alternative energy sources—geothermal, hydrogen, thermal, oceanic, nuclear, and solar—can revolutionize power generation for data centers, reduce environmental impact, and ensure energy resilience.

Join industry experts and energy innovators as they delve into the opportunities and challenges associated with these cutting-edge technologies. From the untapped potential of geothermal energy and the clean-burning promise of hydrogen to the efficiency of advanced nuclear reactors and the immense power of the sun, this discussion will examine how each energy source can contribute to sustainable operations.

The rise of AI is reshaping the data center landscape, creating a demand for faster, more energy-efficient facilities capable of supporting 100,000 GPUs or more. This powerful tool enables comprehensive modeling of data center infrastructure, from cooling systems to resource allocation, helping operators optimize designs, reduce energy consumption, and bring data centers online in weeks rather than years.

Marc will delve into how NVIDIA's digital twin simulations empower data centers to enhance operational efficiency through holistic energy management. Attendees will learn how scalable design and precise planning have enabled them to set up high-performance centers in as little as 19 days and how these innovations support the faster, more efficient deployment needed to meet AI-driven market demands.

As data centers evolve, the molecules are becoming more important than the electrons. In this keynote, explore how natural gas is reshaping site selection, reliability, and scalability — and why chasing the molecule is now key to powering the digital future

Join us as we celebrate Data Center World's 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award winner: Christian Belady. This award honors a leader that has made significant contributions to the industry – demonstrating mentorship, dedication to sustainability, and promotion of innovative technologies and processes in the data center across the span of their career. The Data Center World Advisory Board (https://datacenterworld.com/content-advisory-team) and event leadership selected Christian for his impressive contributions to the industry over the course of his career.

Join Bill Kleyman, AFCOM Data Center World Program Chair and CEO of Apolo.us, for his highly anticipated State of the Data Center presentation based on the AFCOM State of the Data Center 2025 Report. Bill will explore critical industry developments including explosive growth with over 100 megawatts of monthly construction since late 2021, the doubling of the U.S. colocation market, and dramatic increases in rack density from 7 kW to 16 kW per rack driven by AI workloads. He'll address key challenges such as power and cooling demands, cloud repatriation trends due to rising costs, the impact of costly outages exceeding $100,000 for over half of organizations, and emerging solutions including nuclear energy, liquid cooling advancements, and enhanced security measures. This comprehensive session provides essential insights into current market dynamics and future directions, making it indispensable for professionals seeking to stay ahead of data center trends and technologies.

This panel will go beyond highlighting individual corporate initiatives and instead challenge the industry to rethink its approach to sustainability. Real-world strategies for reducing the carbon footprint and minimizing waste, with a special focus on data center operations that consume significant amounts of packaging and resources, will be explored. The discussion will tackle the environmental impact of current practices, the challenges in meeting carbon offset and emission reduction goals, and how the industry can move toward more sustainable, circular approaches. The objective is to foster a meaningful dialogue around how data centers can lead in sustainability, set new standards for reducing waste and achieve long-term environmental goals.

In this session, insights on data center habitat restoration planning, design, construction, and ongoing maintenance will be shared. It will address challenges related to assembling a qualified team, accommodating construction logistics, maintaining site flexibility, and implementing long-term adaptive management strategies across different eco-regions. Additionally, this session will include a comparison of the installation and maintenance costs of Meta's native landscapes versus traditional landscape types, to demonstrate the business benefits for greener mission critical facilities.

The energy of the earth's aquifers can provide a cooling technology that saves energy, uses no water, and takes very little footprint. Traditional geothermal systems can't be used for a data center's year-round cooling loads, but utilizing the moving aquifer for heat transfer can provide full cooling at a fraction of the energy usage of traditional technologies. This session will review Aquifer Geothermal Technology, its data center uses, and provide a cost comparison to traditional HVAC systems. Case study examples will show construction costs, federal rebates and energy.

GEICO's decade-long journey from on-premises to public cloud and back reveals critical lessons about enterprise infrastructure strategy. After going all-in on public cloud migration 10 years ago to drive innovation and modernize aging infrastructure, GEICO became one of the largest cloud consumers across 8 different providers but only achieved 80% migration of critical workloads. In 2023, facing prohibitive cloud costs and seeking greater control over innovation, GEICO reversed course and began rebuilding on-premises data centers using open source, open standards, and open hardware to minimize vendor lock-in complexity. This session explores GEICO's complete infrastructure transformation and the key insights that led them to rethink their cloud-first strategy.

Securing power for data centers is increasingly the primary constraint to data center development. The US Department of Energy has a variety of tools and resources (https://www.energy.gov/policy/electricity-demand-growth-resource-hub) to support load growth, including for data center development. This panel cover some of the public financing tools and technical assistance programs that the DOE offers, and case studies showing how DOE financing helped promote energy innovation and efficiency in real world data center developments.

The first computers were cooled with fluids. Fast forward and we are again faced with the fact that liquid cooling is required for high density loads. But what method works for your environment? Liquid cooling is now at a maturity level to provide some lessons learned from early adopters. In this informative session, attendees will hear a variety of case studies highlighting selection considerations, installation, operations, and lessons learned. This panel discussion will address what worked, what didn't, surprises, and successes to help you on your journey to liquid cooling and higher density applications. Not all data centers are alike, and not all cooling solutions are alike. Picking the right one for your environment is much easier with some intelligence behind your decisions.

The race to power AI-driven data centers is accelerating, and securing sustainable, reliable energy at scale is more critical than ever. In October 2024, Google and Kairos Power announced a groundbreaking agreement to develop up to 500 MW of nuclear energy through small modular reactors (SMRs), a move poised to redefine energy strategies for hyperscalers and data center operators. Backed by the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, this initiative aims for initial deployment by 2030, with further expansions through 2035.

This keynote will explore nuclear energy's implications for supporting AI's power-hungry demands, the role of advanced reactors in stabilizing grid infrastructure, and how data center operators can adapt to an evolving energy landscape. Join industry leaders from Google and Kairos Power as they discuss the intersection of clean energy, nuclear innovation, and the future of mission-critical infrastructure.

As demand for computing power grows, data centers are facing increasing pressure to manage hardware costs, address the growing challenge of e-waste and navigate supply chain disruptions. Yet most retired IT equipment is still prematurely decommissioned, leaving valuable components and materials underutilized.

In this session, Rob Lawson-Shanks, CEO & Co-Founder of Molg, will explore how automation and AI-driven robotics are transforming IT asset recovery, providing a scalable and economically viable alternative to traditional recycling, shredding, and disposal.

The data center industry faces a growing challenge: a shortage of skilled labor and expertise critical to sustaining growth and innovation. This session explores actionable strategies to expand talent pipelines, bridge knowledge gaps, and optimize workforce retention to ensure long-term success. Attendees will learn how to recruit from non-traditional sources, leverage upskilling programs, and collaborate with educational institutions to develop a sustainable workforce.

As automation and AI continue reshaping job roles, businesses must balance technology-driven efficiencies with the human expertise required for mission-critical operations. Additionally, with an aging workforce, organizations must implement knowledge transfer strategies to retain institutional expertise while adapting to evolving career pathways.

The rapid evolution of data center demands is reshaping the industry. Operators must balance the support of legacy IT infrastructure with the exponential growth of high-performance and high-density hardware deployments. According to a recent study by Intersect360, 95% of large-scale corporations have allocated budgets for HPC and AI deployments. This shift underscores a critical challenge: the traditional 'one-size-fits-all' data center model is no longer viable.

A new approach is required - one that seamlessly accommodates varying power densities, integrates into both greenfield and retrofit environments, and enhances efficiency while mitigating operational risks. In this session, discover how DDC Solutions' modular S-Series cabinet technology and dynamic management software enables data centers to future-proof its operations to support up to 600kW cooling. Learn how this groundbreaking solution reduced construction and operational costs while supporting hundreds of hosted cabinets ranging in density.

The Data Center Manager of the Year award recognizes and celebrates exceptional leaders in the Data Center Community. These hard working leaders exemplify the qualities of a trailblazer in a mission critical environment. They are dedicated to ensuring uptime, team building, sustainability, and innovation, and are always striving to work smarter, plan for the future, and advance their organization. Join us to learn more about the Finalists and learn who this year's Winner is!

This session features a distinguished panel of experts who will explore the increasingly complex and interconnected components needed to deliver high-performance IT and data center infrastructure.

The cooling infrastructure necessary to support next-generation chips requires a radical transformation. Experts from Omdia, Accelsius, and Vertiv (delivering an ecosystem perspective) will discuss the critical evolution in cooling technology, with a specific focus on two-phase liquid cooling. As air cooling and single-phase liquid cooling reach their limits, two-phase, direct-to-chip cooling is emerging as the most effective solution for managing the thermal loads of upcoming CPUs and GPUs.

You may know him as Mr. Wonderful from ABC's 'Shark Tank' series – though today, Kevin O'Leary is better known for his venture capitalist and investment pursuits. And one industry Kevin is hot on is data centers.

Not only does he promote investing in data centers in mainstream media, but he is personally investing in a 'mega data center project' called Wonder Valley through his O'Leary Ventures company. This AI-powered data center industrial park will be nestled within the Greenview Industrial Gateway (GIG) in Alberta's Municipal District of Greenview. Planned as an off-grid, approximately 8-gigawatt AI Data Center Park, Wonder Valley represents a bold step into the future of technology. O'Leary will share his learnings from this critical project, and insights on the data center industry and its thirst for power and alternative energy resources.

Data centers are indispensable infrastructure for the global economy – as critical as water and power because of how essential technology has become to every facet of how we work and live. Data centers have become so critical that they were recently the focus of a White House summit where the President and tech industry leaders called digital infrastructure a matter of national security priority. But while the importance of data centers is being recognized at the highest levels of national leadership, there is a huge disconnect at the community level.

In this session, Nancy Novak and Buddy Rizer will map out how each of us can be far more effective in communicating the transformative impact of this infrastructure for local economies to audiences that do not live and breathe data centers the way we do. To make the case, we need to go deeper than just tax dollars that support schools. Novak and Rizer will discuss how we need to tell the full story of how data centers become a massive engine for economic development over the course of decades, driving growth and jobs for the next century just like railroads did in the 19th century. Novak and Rizer will also discuss how we must make a much stronger case for how data centers are built to protect local resources like water, protect community livability and much more. The case for data centers is overwhelming if we share it in the right way. Novak and Rizer will provide a blueprint for that in this must-attend session at Data Center World Spring 2025.