Podcast: Flexential CEO Chris Downie on the AI ​​and cloud paradigm shift in the data center industry

For this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, we interviewed Chris Downie, Chief Executive Officer of Flexential, a frequent industry commentator who emphasizes the transformative impact of AI on IT infrastructure and the need for thoughtful deployment with responsible use and ethical standards in mind.

In a recent LinkedIn post, Flexential’s CEO wrote, “I’ve been in the data center industry for nearly two decades and have seen profound changes, but the rise of AI marks a true paradigm shift that is redefining our approach to IT infrastructure… The true test of our leadership will be how we meet the dual challenge that AI brings – its revolutionary potential and its power to change things. As industry leaders, we must ensure that our advances in AI are matched by advances in ethical practices. Our legacy will depend not only on the technologies we deploy, but also on the conscientiousness with which we deploy them.”

Additionally, Flexential’s Downie recently posted on social media about various interconnection discussions he attended at the ITW 2024 conference (May 14-17) in Maryland this spring. We asked Downie about an ITW discussion he attended that covered the connectivity challenges and solutions essential to supporting new-scale data centers, and how these requirements are driving the evolution of connectivity infrastructure to meet future demands. “As AI’s presence increases, so does its energy consumption, rivaling that of entire nations,” Downie noted.

He added: “As the demands for cloud services, IoT, AI and digital transformation continue to increase, the importance of robust, connected data centers has never been more important. Over the past 18 months, demand for AI GPUs has increased significantly, highlighting the importance of robust networks both within and between facilities. At Flexential, we are proactively addressing these challenges to ensure our network solutions keep pace with growing demands and industry needs.”

Our comprehensive podcast discussion also covered the evolution of high-density data centers in enterprise, cloud and AI use cases, as well as Downie’s take on current power and cooling trends, liquid and air cooling innovations and sustainable practices, power generation considerations and workforce challenges in the data center industry.

Notably, Flexential CEO Chris Downie is also on the editorial advisory board for DCF’s inaugural Data Center Frontier Trends Summit, a live conference event taking place September 4-6 in Reston, Virginia.

Here is a timeline of the key moments in the discussion:

• 2:53 – Chris Downie, CEO of Flexential, highlights the transformative impact of AI on IT infrastructure and stresses that thoughtful deployment is needed given the significant pace of change and the impact on privacy, equity and bias.
• 13:22 – Downie mentions the opening of new Flexential facilities in Denver and Atlanta, emphasizing the growing importance of Denver as a destination for large-scale workloads as well as Atlanta’s growth potential as a tier-one market.
• 17:24 – Downie discusses the evolution of Flexential’s high-density data centers from fourth to fifth generation, the combination of CPU and GPU infrastructure, the current state of GPU environments, and ongoing research into liquid cooling solutions.
• 22:34 – The discussion covers data center considerations regarding on-site power generation, battery backup, sustainability and alternative energy, leading Downie to discuss the industry’s search for new ways to meet power needs, including nuclear and natural gas-based options.
• 26:05 – Emergency power sources such as hydrogen and batteries are addressed. The session then moves on to discussing workforce and community relations challenges in the data center industry. Downie from Flexential reflects on the increasing public understanding of the importance of data centers and the evolving generational shift towards valuing digital infrastructure.