DCA Executive Director Tom Lawler Discusses the Landscape of Data Center Efficiency on Data Center Dynamics Panel

July 25, 2023

Digital Climate Alliance (DCA) Executive Director Tom Lawler recently participated in the panel discussion, “Is it time to rethink the measurement of data center efficiency?” hosted by Data Center Dynamics. At the beginning of the discussion, Tom said, “The data center from yesterday is not the same as the data center for tomorrow. We have to change the way we think about, build, and utilize data centers. We can't live without data centers and the next big challenge is figuring out how we can get them to live with us.”

Tom emphasized the positive role data centers can play in the community. “The physical infrastructure of the data center can also be a big value-add to the community—there are opportunities for brownfield redevelopment and to help bring more job opportunities to underserved urban areas—we need to be thinking about not just the value a data center yields from its computing, but the value a data center can provide to the community. That is a holistic way of asking ‘how can we make data centers a part of our lives in a sustainable way?’” he said.

In terms of what the future holds for data centers, Tom said, “In the DCA we have the ‘Three T's’ of digital transformation: data transparency, data trust, and data transactability, which is a progression. First, you need to be able to see that data, then you have to be able to trust the data, and then you can start making meaningful decisions using that data. It is my hope, five years from now, that we’re talking about the next generation of data centers that are liquid cooled, have circularity in terms of community interaction and equipment, and are being built closer to urban areas. We can get there, but it does require a lot of information and transparency.”