DCF Podcast: Reimagine Data Center Design by Breaking Down the Challenges of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is here and it’s growing at an unprecedented speed. AI power demand currently represents 4.3 GW and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 26% to 36%, resulting in a total demand of 13.5 GW to 20 GW by 2028. While next-gen physical infrastructure systems will eventually leverage more AI, data center operators need to pivot quickly to support AI workloads in systems available today.
In this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, Matt Vincent, Editor-in-Chief of Data Center Frontier, and Steven Carlini, Vice President of Innovation and Data Centers for Schneider Electric, break down the challenges of AI for each physical infrastructure category including power, cooling, racks, and software management.
Listen to this 30-minute podcast to learn more about:
- How liquid cooling technology will evolve.
- The importance of achieving a successful transition from air cooling to liquid cooling to support the growing thermal design power of AI workloads.
- 6 key cooling challenges data center operators must address.
- Why the extreme rack power densities required by AI training servers is so challenging.
- The importance of implementing sustainability strategies based on a standard set of metrics that allow for benchmarking and organizational alignment.
About Steven Carlini:
With extensive global experience, Steven leads the Energy Management BU’s Office of Innovation and Data Center Solutions, a team focused on spearheading Schneider’s data center, digital energy, and residential businesses. He also leads Schneider Electric’s Energy Management Research Center. In 2023, Steve was named to Capacity Media's Capacity POWER 100, a list of the “trailblazers, innovators and leaders driving the global digital infrastructure space.” His areas of focus include innovation, AI, hydrogen, sustainability, 5G and 6G, cloud and edge computing, DCIM, BMS, and EDMS.
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
