PTC'24 - The Future of AI

Posted on January 30th, 2024

Our first PTC was impactful, full of inspiring conversations, knowledge shares and industry insights.  Here’s a brief summary of the highlights and memorable moments from our perspective. Grateful for the opportunity to connect with old friends and make new friends. Don’t hesitate to reach out if we can be of service. Mahalo!

- Gemini Prime - The Energy of Creation

PTC'24 Summary Blog

Favorite Panels - AI Smackdown - CEO vs ChatGPT

Panel Speakers: Jim Fagan, CEO Aqua Comms; Keri Gilder, CEO Colt Technology Services; Stacey Loidolt, VP of Product Aqua Comms; Emily Newman, Manager, PR & Marketing NJFX; Gil Santaliz, CEO NJFX

• "In the near future, AI software application development could be a huge opportunity beyond generative AI."  - Keri Gilder, CEO Colt Technology Services
• "Making connections, human and digital. Ensure the global community stays connected after the pandemic drove lots of businesses to come home to the point of use or where the majority of assets exist."  - Keri Gilder, CEO Colt Technology Services
• "People still like doing business with people.  Chat bots vs a human voice.  Conference calls vs face to face interaction. People still want a human to be accountable to solve problems or provide the support." - Gil Santaliz, CEO NJFX
• “It's critical leadership promotes outreach to remote workers to ensure they have the pulse of their employees and still keep the company culture connected when folks aren’t coming into the office.” - Gil Santaliz, CEO NJFX

Conclusion: ChatGPT is pretty accurate and smart when asked a detailed question. But CEO’s still have all the imagination and critical thinking skills needed to thrive in our current digital world.

Favorite Panels - Data Center Topical Session

Panel Speakers: Peter Hopper, Managing Directir Digital Bridge; Rohan Sheth, Business Head Yotta Data Services; Patrick Lynch, Executive Managing Director CBRE; Juan Font, President & CEO Coresite

Key Quotes:

• "Power Power Power: It’s not a generation problem it’s a distribution problem."
• "We must bring data centers to the power, bring the work loads to the power instead of finding available power in preferred locations."

Explore and develope 2nd tier markets. - Potential NAM 2nd Tier Market Locations,

• Reno NV
• Prince Willian County (VA)
• Nashville TN
• Jacksonville FL
• Phoenix AZ
• Albuquerque NM
• Hillsboro OR
• Minneapolis MN
• Terre Haute IN
• Grand Rapids MI
• Atlanta GA
• Columbia SC
• Vancouver BC
• Guanajuato MX

"Approximately, the industry will build 10 Gigwatts of Power in the next several years…where is the capital?" A quote from a major financial instituation, "we have 7 Billion dollars of exposure on the books and we love those investments but we aren’t trying to grow it to 14 Billion!”

"They love where they are but don’t want to double their exposure. Where is the private equity and alternative funding coming from?” 

     - Peter Hopper, Managing Director Digital Bridge.

Conclusion: Creative energy solutions & financing will be essential to meet the exponential growth of the Data Center and Telecommunications Industries.

Dropping Gems - Watercooler Talk

Community Engagement Needed to Drive Data Center Growth

"Local community impact will be pivotal for the  future growth of our industry. States and local governments will bring their IT services home to benefit the local tax base and stimulate community development. The politician's have important role to play in leveraging the power of our industry to rebuild underserved communities.”

   - Craig Huffman, CEO MetroEdge Development Partners

The Impact of AI and High Compute Applications

AI is driving exponential growth and challenging long held beliefs, “No water in my Data Center!”

How do I bring water into my Data Center? A: Gemini Prime GeoExchange Solutions 

"Will AI make my job obsolete? A: Maybe but most likely NO! We are at the begining of this paradigm shift and no one truly knows what the next ChatGPT will be and how it will affect the way we do buisness and live. However one thing is clear, the future will be owned by those individuals and companies that embrace this change. Its all about merging Artificial Intelligence with Human Intelligence.”

   - Raymond Burrell, Managing Partner Gemini Prime

Fun Fact: "ChatGPT has 2.4 Billion users, 1 query draws the same energy as needed to power a home for 4 months!” - Michael Ortiz, CEO Layer 9

Education, Networking & Recruitment are Key to Industry Growth

• Common Sense is not so common, most people don’t realize the Cloud is actually hosted in a real building with physical servers.
• Being intentional with learning from older and more skilled employees in one on one environments.
• Invest in mentoring programs, groups projects, and activities that are aligned with the younger generation.
• Create and connect with the communities that matter to the emerging generations.

Shout Outs - Paying it Forward

• Felix Seda & Beyond PTC - This program has been pivital in bringing young diverse talent to the industry. Mahola!
• Nabeel Mahmood & Nomad Futurists - tackle the crucial task of cultivating future leadership by engaging with today’s younger generations.

Best Swag: Prime Data Centers

Best Party: NTT Data 

Best Food: Aligned Adaptive Data Centers 

Conclusion

PTC’24 was a wildly successful event, well run, organized and attended. You will be hard pressed to find a better collection of industry leaders, experts and professionals in one setting. A truly fantastic way to kick off the new year. Best of luck to all those folks we had the pleasure of connecting with this past week. If there is anything we can do to help your organization realize goals, solve problems or create solutions to drive growth, don't hesitate to contact us. Mahalo my friends!

Sincerely,

Gemini Prime - The Energy of Creation