What Data Center Innovation Looks Like in the Age of AI

Data center development is moving fast, and so is the computing technology that lives inside them. The AI boom is accelerating just about everything, placing a premium on innovation. So what does data center innovation look like in 2025 and beyond?

To explore this question, we turned to Phill Lawson-Shanks, the Chief Innovation Officer at Aligned Data Centers. Phill has been involved in transformative work in the sector for years, from the edge of the network to the center of the data hall.

On today’s show, Phill shares how modular designs are helping Aligned keep pace with new technology and new hardware, adapting to changes in power and cooling infrastructure, and all the while staying keenly focused on sustainability.

00:00 - Intro and Phill’s “Data Center Journey”

04:16 - What innovation looks like in the age of AI

08:45 - The importance of modularity in an evolving design environment

14:20 - Managing infrastructure through the cloud to AI transition

19:45 - Extending innovation to site selection and the power landscape

24:30 - Prioritizing sustainabilty in a rapidly-evolving energy industry

27:30 - Future-proofing cooling infrastructure

31:30 - The Next 5 Years - How Phill sees it

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At Data Center Richness we demystify technology and explain why data centers matter, and what comes next for the Internet, cloud computing and AI. Host Rich Miller is a journalist and analyst who has been covering the data center sector for 25 years. Subscribe to our channel for more insights: https://www.youtube.com/@DataCenterRichness?sub_confirmation=1

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LINKS FROM THIS SHOW
Aligned Data Centers
https://aligneddc.com/

Phil Lawson-Shanks on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/plawsonshanks/

Rich Miller on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/datacenterfrontier/

RELATED VIDEOS:

How Aligned is Tackling the Data Center Density Challenge
https://youtu.be/_zeLScBMDxk?si=k6t3xZIJKfWbBdjl

A Closer Look at Two-Phase Liquid Cooling
https://youtu.be/w_Us94JgYzc

How Will Data Centers Be Different in 2030
https://youtu.be/IUO8fUWNoX8?si=QjhHEBlvx3fMR0Z

All video by Data Center Richness.

Supplemental music via Epidemic Sound https://share.epidemicsound.com/60o8qx