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January 8, 2026

Surfs Up! The Liquid Cooling Mandate The data center industry is standing on the shoreline of a massive tidal shift. For decades, we have relied on the steady, predictable breeze of air cooling to keep our digital engines running. It was a comfortable era where raised floors, CRAC units, and hot-aisle containment were sufficient to tame the heat generated by general-purpose compute. But the wind has died down, and a tsunami is approaching. That tsunami is Artificial Intelligence, and it brings with it a thermal density that air simply cannot carry. We are no longer discussing a "trend" or an "emerging technology." We are facing a hard physical wall. The era of air-cooled facilities for high-performance computing is effectively ending. As we move deep into late 2025 and 2026, operators are realizing that the liquid cooling mandate is not just about changing plumbing; it’s about survival in the age of the AI factory. This isn’t just a facility upgrade—it is a complete reimagining of mission-critical thermal management.

Surfs Up! The Liquid Cooling Mandate

Nlyte Software January 8, 2026

​The data center industry is standing on the shoreline of a massive tidal shift. For decades, we have relied on the steady, predictable breeze of

Image of a skyline with smart buildings with the dawn of a new beginning of AI

Facility Manager Needs – Then Versus Now

Danielle Radden January 8, 2026

An article posted 10 years ago outlines a clear need for data, analytics, and increasing intelligence within buildings. Seems very similar to the needs of our modern building operations. The way those needs show up today looks very different though with the advancement of AI.

Surfs Up! The Liquid Cooling Mandate The data center industry is standing on the shoreline of a massive tidal shift. For decades, we have relied on the steady, predictable breeze of air cooling to keep our digital engines running. It was a comfortable era where raised floors, CRAC units, and hot-aisle containment were sufficient to tame the heat generated by general-purpose compute. But the wind has died down, and a tsunami is approaching. That tsunami is Artificial Intelligence, and it brings with it a thermal density that air simply cannot carry. We are no longer discussing a "trend" or an "emerging technology." We are facing a hard physical wall. The era of air-cooled facilities for high-performance computing is effectively ending. As we move deep into late 2025 and 2026, operators are realizing that the liquid cooling mandate is not just about changing plumbing; it’s about survival in the age of the AI factory. This isn’t just a facility upgrade—it is a complete reimagining of mission-critical thermal management.

Surfs Up! The Liquid Cooling Mandate

Nlyte Software January 8, 2026

​The data center industry is standing on the shoreline of a massive tidal shift. For decades, we have relied on the steady, predictable breeze of

Image of a skyline with smart buildings with the dawn of a new beginning of AI

Facility Manager Needs – Then Versus Now

Danielle Radden January 8, 2026

An article posted 10 years ago outlines a clear need for data, analytics, and increasing intelligence within buildings. Seems very similar to the needs of our modern building operations. The way those needs show up today looks very different though with the advancement of AI.