Membership Calendar

Description coming soon.

The data center industry is currently facing significant challenges in capacity planning due to rapidly increasing demands for data storage and processing power. With the exponential growth of data, many organizations struggle to accurately predict their capacity needs, leading to overprovisioning or underutilization of resources. Moreover, the ongoing shift to hybrid cloud solutions and edge computing further complicates capacity planning, as workloads become more distributed and difficult to manage. To address these challenges, organizations are turning to innovative solutions such as machine learning and artificial intelligence to optimize their capacity planning strategies and ensure they have the necessary resources to meet current and future demands.

Key questions:

1. How do you accurately predict capacity needs for a data center, and what factors should be taken into account?
2. What are the best practices for managing growth in a data center, and how can you balance the need for scalability with the need for efficiency?
3. How can organizations effectively incorporate emerging technologies such as edge computing and hybrid cloud solutions into their planning strategies?
4. What role does automation play and how can machine learning and artificial intelligence be utilized to optimize resource allocation in data centers?

This roundtable will again examine the importance of commissioning and recommissioning. The discussion will revolve around issues such as getting the greatest benefit from commissioning and when is the best time to conduct re-commissioning. Attendees will also discuss how commissioning and recommissioning help drive sustainability.

The shortage of qualified personnel to fill roles in the data center continues to be a persistent issue. The demand for data center services and the rapid pace of technological advancement have created a unique work environment requiring a broad range of expertise. Addressing this skills gap will require a multifaceted approach that includes improving recruitment and retention strategies, increasing training and education programs, and developing new technologies to automate or streamline certain aspects of data center operations. In this discussion, attendees will share their strategies and approaches to addressing the staffing shortage, and provide insights into the future outlook for the industry in terms of workforce development, in concert with technological innovation.

Key questions:

1. What are the specific challenges your organization is facing in terms of staffing, and how do these challenges impact your organization’s ability to meet growing demand for services?
2. What strategies are currently being employed to address the staffing shortage, and how effective have these strategies been?
3. What role can technology play in addressing the staffing shortage, and what new innovations is your organization looking at to potentially mitigate some of the staffing challenges?

Attendees will discuss how legacy data centers fit into the management of their overall portfolio, including how they affect energy efficiency goals, staff training, and equipment procurement.

How do you determine and calculate data center availability? It seems operators calculate availability in many different ways. As an example, do you calculate availability by the power cord, the rack, or the availability of the IT service? In this session, attendees provide their logic and methods for determining and calculating data center availability.

The shortage of qualified personnel to fill roles in the data center continues to be a persistent issue. The demand for data center services and the rapid pace of technological advancement have created a unique work environment requiring a broad range of expertise. Addressing this skills gap will require a multifaceted approach that includes improving recruitment and retention strategies, increasing training and education programs, and developing new technologies to automate or streamline certain aspects of data center operations. In this discussion, attendees will share their strategies and approaches to addressing the staffing shortage, and provide insights into the future outlook for the industry in terms of workforce development, in concert with technological innovation.

Key questions:

1. What are the specific challenges your organization is facing in terms of staffing, and how do these challenges impact your organization’s ability to meet growing demand for services?
2. What strategies are currently being employed to address the staffing shortage, and how effective have these strategies been?
3. What role can technology play in addressing the staffing shortage, and what new innovations is your organization looking at to potentially mitigate some of the staffing challenges?

Extreme weather events pose significant concerns and challenges for data centers and digital infrastructure. These events, such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and extreme temperatures, can disrupt operations, damage critical infrastructure, and potentially lead to data loss, downtime, and business interruption. Proper preparation and planning are crucial to ensure data centers are resilient and can effectively manage and mitigate the impacts of extreme weather conditions, including robust backup power systems, cooling solutions, and disaster recovery plans. Data center operators need to consider location, design, construction, and maintenance practices that account for the potential risks of extreme weather events to ensure the continued availability and integrity of digital services and data.

Key questions:

1. What are the specific concerns and risks that extreme weather events pose to data centers and digital infrastructure, and how can organizations proactively prepare for and mitigate these risks?
2. What are the best practices for designing and building data centers in locations prone to extreme weather conditions, and how can existing data centers be retrofitted to enhance their resilience?
3. How can advanced technologies, such as predictive analytics, remote monitoring, and automation, be utilized to improve the ability of data centers to withstand and recover from extreme weather events?
4. What are the financial and operational implications of extreme weather events on data centers, including insurance considerations, cost of downtime, and potential reputational impacts, and how can organizations effectively manage these risks?
5. How can data centers contribute to climate resilience by adopting sustainable practices, such as renewable energy sources, energy-efficient designs, and circular economy principles, to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events and reduce their environmental footprint?

Description coming soon.

Widespread outages of recent years have proven how interconnected digital infrastructure is throughout the world. It has also shown the importance of data centers to everyday lives. A risk assessment in 2024 will be more wide-spread and comprehensive than in 2020, but are there still considerations and risks that are perhaps missing.

In this session, attendees will discuss what has become more common in risk assessments, and future considerations to avoid missing any potential gaps.

Extreme weather events pose significant concerns and challenges for data centers and digital infrastructure. These events, such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and extreme temperatures, can disrupt operations, damage critical infrastructure, and potentially lead to data loss, downtime, and business interruption. Proper preparation and planning are crucial to ensure data centers are resilient and can effectively manage and mitigate the impacts of extreme weather conditions, including robust backup power systems, cooling solutions, and disaster recovery plans. Data center operators need to consider location, design, construction, and maintenance practices that account for the potential risks of extreme weather events to ensure the continued availability and integrity of digital services and data.

Key questions:

1. What are the specific concerns and risks that extreme weather events pose to data centers and digital infrastructure, and how can organizations proactively prepare for and mitigate these risks?
2. What are the best practices for designing and building data centers in locations prone to extreme weather conditions, and how can existing data centers be retrofitted to enhance their resilience?
3. How can advanced technologies, such as predictive analytics, remote monitoring, and automation, be utilized to improve the ability of data centers to withstand and recover from extreme weather events?
4. What are the financial and operational implications of extreme weather events on data centers, including insurance considerations, cost of downtime, and potential reputational impacts, and how can organizations effectively manage these risks?
5. How can data centers contribute to climate resilience by adopting sustainable practices, such as renewable energy sources, energy-efficient designs, and circular economy principles, to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events and reduce their environmental footprint?