DCF Podcast: Data Centers, AI & Creative Destruction
Ten years into the fourth industrial revolution, we now live in a “datacentered” world where data has become the currency of both business and personal value. In fact, the value proposition for every Fortune 500 company involves data. And now, seemingly out of nowhere, artificial intelligence has come along and is looking to be one of the most disruptive changes to digital infrastructure that we’ve ever seen.
In this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, Matt Vincent, Editor-in-Chief of Data Center Frontier, talks to Sean Farney, Vice President for Data Center Strategy for JLL Americas, about how AI will impact data centers.
Listen to this 30-minute podcast to learn more about:
- The cultural context of AI technologies for data centers
- The impact AI will have on data center design
- Balancing sustainability concerns with AI
- And AI and adaptive reuse for circularity in the data center
About Sean Farney:
As Vice President of Data Center Strategy for the Americas, Sean helps clients operate more than 900 data centers sustainably and efficiently. Prior roles, include Director of Data Center Marketing at Kohler, Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Edge data center startup of Ubiquity Critical Environments, and data center manager for Microsoft’s 120MW Chicago facility.
Sean strives to embody sustainability personally; he hunts, grows, or harvests a majority of his food and burns deadfall to heat his home, earning him a county-leading Energy Star rating.
He holds a master’s degree in Information Technology from Northwestern University.
About JLL:
At JLL, we see a brighter way forward for our clients, people, and planet. By combining technology & expertise, we leverage the built environment to change the world for the better. We help build, buy, occupy, and invest in a variety of assets, including data centers, managing 900 facilites across 200M sf of mission critical space globally. We also complete 200+ site selection transactions and $7B of capitalization annually.
About the Author
Matt Vincent
Matt Vincent is Editor in Chief of Data Center Frontier, where he leads editorial strategy and coverage focused on the infrastructure powering cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and the digital economy. A veteran B2B technology journalist with more than two decades of experience, Vincent specializes in the intersection of data centers, power, cooling, and emerging AI-era infrastructure. Since assuming the EIC role in 2023, he has helped guide Data Center Frontier’s coverage of the industry’s transition into the gigawatt-scale AI era, with a focus on hyperscale development, behind-the-meter power strategies, liquid cooling architectures, and the evolving energy demands of high-density compute, while working closely with the Digital Infrastructure Group at Endeavor Business Media to expand the brand’s analytical and multimedia footprint. Vincent also hosts The Data Center Frontier Show podcast, where he interviews industry leaders across hyperscale, colocation, utilities, and the data center supply chain to examine the technologies and business models reshaping digital infrastructure. Since its inception he serves as Head of Content for the Data Center Frontier Trends Summit. Before becoming Editor in Chief, he served in multiple senior editorial roles across Endeavor Business Media’s digital infrastructure portfolio, with coverage spanning data centers and hyperscale infrastructure, structured cabling and networking, telecom and datacom, IP physical security, and wireless and Pro AV markets. He began his career in 2005 within PennWell’s Advanced Technology Division and later held senior editorial positions supporting brands such as Cabling Installation & Maintenance, Lightwave Online, Broadband Technology Report, and Smart Buildings Technology. Vincent is a frequent moderator, interviewer, and keynote speaker at industry events including the HPC Forum, where he delivers forward-looking analysis on how AI and high-performance computing are reshaping digital infrastructure. He graduated with honors from Indiana University Bloomington with a B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing and lives in southern New Hampshire with his family, remaining an active musician in his spare time.
Voices of the Industry
