Moderators: Andy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research; Will Clayton, Director Corporate Planning & Development; Chris Brown, Chief Technology Officer; Daniel Bizo, Research Director

AI is transforming data center requirements, making resiliency more critical than ever as workloads become denser, power demands increase, and downtime becomes increasingly costly. This workshop will explore the value of resiliency in the AI era and examine practical strategies for ensuring data centers can withstand disruptions while maintaining performance, availability, and business continuity.

Jay Dietrich, Research Director, Sustainability, Uptime Intelligence

The rapid growth of AI and digital infrastructure is pushing data centers into unprecedented territory, creating new challenges around capacity, power availability, and energy supply. This session will explore the forces reshaping data center growth and examine how operators, utilities, and other stakeholders can navigate constraints while meeting rapidly increasing demand.

Moderator: Andy Lawrence, Executive Director of Research, Uptime Institute
Elliott Bermudez-Galton, Head of Europe, True Group

As data center energy consumption grows, the cost and security of electricity are becoming increasingly important considerations for operators and investors. This session will examine evolving energy pricing trends, supply risks, and strategies for securing reliable and economically sustainable power for critical data center operations.

Jay Dietrich, Research Director, Sustainability, Uptime Intelligence

The rapid adoption of AI is changing data center energy consumption, resource requirements, and environmental impacts, creating new challenges for sustainability reporting. This session will explore how AI-driven growth affects key sustainability metrics, reporting practices, and the transparency organizations need to demonstrate environmental performance.

Moderator: Chris Hachey, Managing Editor, Uptime Intelligence
Rose Weinschenk, Research Associate, Uptime Intelligence
Dr. Rand Talib, Research Analyst, Uptime Intelligence

The rapid expansion of data centers is generating growing scrutiny around energy consumption, water use, land use, and impacts on local communities. This session will examine the drivers behind the data center backlash and explore how operators can address community concerns, improve transparency, and build greater trust.

Daniel Bizo, Senior Research Director, Uptime Intelligence

As AI and high-density computing push thermal requirements to new levels, the role of traditional air cooling is being reevaluated. This session will explore the future capabilities and limitations of air-cooled IT, including where it can remain viable and how evolving technologies may extend its usefulness in next-generation data centers.

Jacqueline Davis, Research Analyst, Uptime Intelligence

AI workloads are driving unprecedented power densities and introducing new challenges for data center commissioning. This session will explore how liquid-cooled load banks can be used to realistically simulate AI loads, validate cooling and power systems, and improve confidence that infrastructure will perform as designed before deployment.

Dr. Owen Rogers, Senior Research Director, Uptime Intelligence

The rapid expansion of AI training is creating significant demand for compute, power, cooling, and capital investment. This session will examine the economics behind AI training workloads, including infrastructure costs, utilization, energy requirements, and the factors that influence the overall business case for AI.

Michael O’Neil, Consultant Analyst, Uptime Institute

Effective AI-driven data center operations depend on accurate, consistent, and accessible perspectives on equipment and environments. This session will introduce the AI in DC Ops Network Working Group's discussion on AI options, opportunities and constraints within the data center, examine how standardized insight can enable better analytics, automation, interoperability, and AI-enhanced operations – and explore how the Uptime Network can work with third parties to shape the industry’s approach to AI in data center operations.

Tom McCarthy, Sr. Director Global Maintenance & Operations, EdgeConneX

This case study will examine EdgeConneX's approach to developing a hands-on training center designed to build practical data center skills and capabilities. Attendees will learn how immersive training can improve technician readiness, reinforce operational practices, and support the development of a more capable data center workforce.

John Norris, Lead Technical Developer – Accredited Courses, CNet Training – An Uptime Education Company

Training a large and diverse data center workforce provides valuable insight into the skills, knowledge, and behaviors required for reliable operations. This session will share lessons learned from training thousands of technicians, highlighting common gaps, effective training approaches, and strategies for building competency and confidence.

John O’Brien, Senior Research Analyst, Uptime Intelligence

Selecting the right Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) platform can be challenging as organizations balance operational needs, integration requirements, analytics, and emerging AI capabilities. This session will provide practical guidance for evaluating DCIM solutions, identifying key capabilities, avoiding common pitfalls, and aligning technology investments with operational objectives.

Max Smolaks, Senior Research Analyst, Uptime Intelligence

As data center energy consumption continues to grow, waste heat is increasingly being viewed as a potential resource rather than simply a byproduct. This session will explore the technologies, business models, and practical considerations for capturing and reusing data center waste heat while addressing challenges such as heat quality, economics, infrastructure, and demand.

Moderator: Scott Killian, VP, Uptime Network

An open forum for attendees to engage with experts and peers on pressing issues in the data center industry. Participants are encouraged to share insights, pose questions, and discuss innovative solutions in a collaborative learning environment.