FEATURE about the type of infrastructure needed to support it.
Infrastructure under pressure in many high-density areas. This reflects the unavoidable resource intensity of AI workloads and indicates the need for more holistic approaches to performance.
While development is accelerating, it is occurring across a region with varying levels of maturity and changing regulations. Power availability remains the most immediate constraint, but grid stability, redundancy and long-term generation capacity are also great concerns. High-density AI environments increase these pressures. Their development demands electrical resilience far above traditional design choices.
Cooling is another challenge. As heat loads increase, aircooled systems are reaching their practical limits. Liquid cooling, whether direct-to-chip or immersion, is becoming increasingly necessary. These technologies offer new dependencies on water supply, treatment and sustainability planning.
After years of steady improvement, power usage effectiveness( PUE) and water usage effectiveness( WUE) metrics are rising again
In 2024, APAC accounted for four of the world’ s 10 largest data centre transactions.
Regulatory diversity increases the difficulty of delivery. India offers extended tax incentives to encourage investment. Singapore is highly selective in its approach to new developments. Japan is subsidising AI computing as part of its technology strategy. Malaysia and Indonesia are prioritising energy incentives. Each market operates differently and at varying paces. This creates particular constraints and policies that entail careful interpretation. For new entrants, particularly those expanding from Europe or the US, working through this landscape without specialist insight can be difficult.
Applying global expertise with local precision
As the region enters its next phase, global experience is needed. The majority of global operators rely on Plan-of-Record or‘ Reference’ designs. These are standards that have been developed over the course of numerous builds
38
INTELLIGENT CIO APAC www. intelligentcio. com