HPE's Andrew DesRochers on Why Efficiency Is Now an IT Planning Imperative
Data Center Knowledge, Tuesday, June 16th, 2026
AI infrastructure scaling forces IT teams to prioritize energy efficiency, cooling, and utility constraints in planning.
As AI workloads expand, data center operators face unprecedented pressures around power availability, cooling infrastructure, and utility interconnection timelines.
HPE's Andrew DesRochers notes that energy has become a major factor in infrastructure planning, with customers shifting from sustainability discussions to operational execution. Organizations must weigh whether AI investments deliver measurable returns while managing resource constraints.
Water consumption and regional utility capacity are emerging as critical site-selection variables, pushing operators toward liquid cooling. Efficiency has shifted from a compliance concern to a core business requirement tied directly to ROI.