ALIX PRESSLEY, EDITOR

ello and welcome to the latest edition of

Intelligent Data Centres. This month’ s cover story, which can be found on page 14, features Manish Kumar, EVP, Secure Power and Data Centres at Schneider Electric. He tells us how the rapid rise of AI is forcing data centre operators to rethink everything from rack density and cooling systems to digital operations and energy management.

Kumar explains that AI workloads are dramatically increasing rack densities, with some projected to reach up to one megawatt, making liquid cooling and advanced power architectures essential for future-ready facilities. He also discusses why deployment speed has become just as important as reliability, with prefabricated systems helping operators accelerate the design and rollout of AI infrastructure. According to Kumar, the growing complexity and interdependency between power, cooling and digital systems means operators must adopt integrated, endto-end approaches supported by digital twins and continuous simulation. Looking ahead, Kumar believes the next generation of AI infrastructure will be defined by Energy Intelligence, enabling data centres to become flexible, intelligent energy assets that optimise both operational performance and grid efficiency. such as digital twins enabling operators to test and optimise changes before deployment.

He adds that effective training, collaboration and knowledge sharing across regions are essential to ensuring reliable operations and helping data centre operators meet growing expectations around speed, flexibility and sustainability. You can read more starting on page 23.

That’ s just a snapshot of what we have in store this month. For more of the latest news and insights, visit our website: intelligentdatacentres. com.

Elsewhere, Matt Wilkins, Global Director of Design & Engineering, Colt DCS, explains how Global Reference Designs( GRDs) are helping hyperscale data centre developers accelerate deployment, improve sustainability and maintain consistent quality across multiple geographies.

He says standardised, repeatable designs can reduce construction timelines, lower costs and simplify compliance, while still allowing flexibility to meet local regulations and operational requirements.

ALIX. PRESSLEY @ INTELLIGENTGLOBALMEDIA. COM

Wilkins also highlights the importance of evolving GRDs to support increasingly demanding AI workloads, with tools

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