Unlocking data center growth through the convergence of power and compute

Unlocking growth as power and compute converge

Goldman Sachs estimates that AI will drive a 160 percent increase in data center power demand by 2030. As demand grows, making power accessible and usable across the data center is no longer optional — it’s mission-critical. Once considered a check-the-box utility, power has become a strategic focus, with operators scrutinizing every layer of infrastructure from grid to chip. To unlock new efficiencies and streamline operations, co-engineering power, cooling, and compute architecture must be a top priority.

From isolation to consolidation: the future of data center architecture

To accommodate escalating power and thermal management requirements, data center operators need to rethink their architectures. Consider the scenario showcased in Figure 1 and Figure 2. In a typical data center configuration today, the air-cooled electrical room might supply power to a lineup of traditional 50kW racks in the data hall via a 1,200-amp busway, with the data hall taking up about 160 sq. ft. of space [Figure 1]. Power, cooling, and servers are fully integrated within the same rack. With 1+ MW racks on the horizon, however, change is in order.

Shifting the power architecture and bringing in advanced liquid cooling technologies eases space constraints while imparting a host of other benefits. For instance, a higher capacity 4,000-amp busbar feeding power into a reconfigured data hall with an end-of-row cooling distribution unit (CDU) can accommodate high-density IT racks and elevate the power architecture to 400V [Figure 2]. Flanking the IT racks with standalone power cabinets and CDUs not only increases the amount of space in the IT rack dedicated to compute, it also opens up the data hall floorspace considerably — in this case, by 80 percent.

Figure 1. Isolated IT power today

Figure 2. Consolidated IT power in 2027

Furthermore, the new configuration improves system efficiency by about 20 percent, which translates into significant energy savings annually per rack. When you consider that large data centers can pack in thousands of racks, the savings add up. We’re collaborating with our hyperscaler customers on new configurations and products for this scenario as we speak.

Breaking the grey space/white space barrier

Higher DC voltages are already accepted in solar and vehicle applications. Now we’re seeing them emerge in the data center. Traditionally, converting incoming AC power to a DC voltage usable at the chip level requires several steps. Every conversion means a loss of efficiency, so the number of “handoffs” matters. Condensing power conversion into a single solid state transformer reduces that loss considerably [Figure 3]. As data centers shift to the use of DC power, the electrical rooms — not just the data hall — will start to undergo a metamorphosis as well.

Collaboration lies at the heart of such advancements. In the past, electrical rooms and data halls were treated as separate domains. Since the two systems function as extensions of each other, effective collaboration can drive significant innovation at the convergence of power and compute.

By 2030, we expect a significant reduction in the square footage required for electrical equipment — up to 90% — paired with another leap in energy efficiency. This unlocks two strategic advantages for operators: lower construction costs by achieving capacity in a smaller footprint, or increased compute density by adding more racks within the same envelope [Figure 3]. Either way, the convergence of power and IT marks a critical step forward.

Figure 3. Next gen 2030

Partnering for strategic advantage in the AI era

The convergence of power and compute is a fundamental transformation in data center design. Given the increasingly interdependent relationship between computational workloads and the infrastructure powering them, a partner with deep expertise in power and IT infrastructure can offer a distinct competitive advantage as demand for AI and HPC capacity accelerates.

Flex provides a unique portfolio of products and end-to-end services that cover 80 percent of the modern data center [Figure 4]. From co-designing next-generation compute infrastructure with hyperscalers, to delivering cutting-edge power and cooling products, to fully integrating racks for high-density environments, Flex is poised to enable companies to solve power, heat, and scale challenges and deliver in the AI era.

Our portfolio of services and power products cover over 80% of the data center:

Figure 4. Flex’s 80% data center coverage