A developer finds land. A utility evaluates power. An engineering team designs cooling. A network provider plans connectivity. Investors examine the numbers.

Each organization may be making progress.

The project can still be stuck.

The challenge is that a data center’s requirements depend on one another. A cooling decision changes electrical demand. A power delivery date changes construction sequencing. A new fiber route requires access across land. An approval delay changes when capital is needed and when revenue can begin.

A data center becomes operational when its supporting systems can work together, at the required capacity, on a compatible schedule.

Infrastructure of Intelligence™ examines this coordination through eight foundational pillars:

Power · Connectivity · Land · Water · Workforce · Policy · Capital · Sustainability

Understanding these pillars individually is a starting point. Understanding their relationships helps reveal where projects face constraints and where companies can create value together.

How Do IOI’s Eight Pillars Affect One Another?

IOI’s Eight Pillars affect one another through shared requirements for capacity, location, cost, timing, and operating performance. A decision within one pillar can change what other systems must deliver. Cooling influences electricity demand; electricity availability influences site selection; site selection influences network construction, approvals, workforce access, and financing.

The Eight-Pillar Framework is IOI’s analytical approach to examining these dependencies. It brings physical infrastructure and the people, rules, and financing required to deliver it into one view.

The practical question is:

When one part of the project changes, what else must change with it?q66t

Why Coordination Matters For AI Infrastructure

The scale of data center demand makes these relationships increasingly consequential.

Berkeley Lab’s 2024 analysis estimated that U.S. data centers consumed approximately 4.4% of national electricity in 2023, with a projected range of 6.7%–12% by 2028. These figures cover the broader data center sector, including AI and other digital workloads. U.S. Department of Energy, Summary Of Berkeley Lab’s Report.

At the project level, however, a national growth forecast cannot establish whether a particular property has a workable path to operations.

A project needs answers tied to its location, customer requirements, design, and schedule.

IOI’s perspective is that readiness should be examined across the relationships between the pillars. Securing one resource does not establish that the complete development can be delivered.

Pillar 1: Power Shapes The Project’s Capacity And Timing

Power establishes how much computing activity a facility can support, alongside the electricity required for cooling and other building systems.

The assessment extends from electricity supply through transmission, distribution, substations, transformers, and the facility’s internal electrical infrastructure.

A proposed service date depends on the work required along that pathway.

In its 2025 Energy and AI report, the International Energy Agency estimated that approximately 20% of planned data center projects could face delays if grid risks were not addressed. The report also identified lengthy transmission development timelines and increased waits for critical grid components. IEA, Energy And AI.

How Power Affects The Other Pillars

A power constraint can change land selection or require a smaller first phase. A revised cooling configuration can change the load that the water and thermal systems place on the electrical system.

New electrical infrastructure requires capital, qualified workforce, and applicable policy approvals. The generation mix and operating strategy also influence sustainability performance.

A proposal to add onsite generation introduces another set of dependencies: space, fuel delivery where applicable, equipment procurement, operating expertise, and approvals.

What You Should Be Asking

• How much power can be delivered for the first phase, and what supports that commitment?

• Which upgrades, equipment deliveries, or approvals determine the energization date?

• Does the load estimate include cooling and other facility requirements?

• If electricity arrives later or in smaller increments, how must construction, financing, and customer deployment change?

Pillar 2: Connectivity Links The Site To Its Workloads

A data center needs network connections that match the requirements of its customers and applications.

Those requirements include capacity, latency, access to relevant networks, and resilience. They also include the physical work required to bring service into the facility.

The presence of fiber near a property is a reason to investigate service availability. The project still needs to establish where it can connect, what capacity is available, and what construction is required.

How Connectivity Affects The Other Pillars

A network extension can require access across additional land, permissions under policy, construction workforce, and upfront capital.

Route choices can influence site design and the timing of civil works. If connectivity becomes available after electrical service, an energized building may still be unable to support its intended customer deployment.

Network resilience also requires attention to shared dependencies. Two providers may use portions of the same physical route, so provider diversity alone does not establish route diversity.

What You Should Be Asking

• Which carriers can serve the exact property, and what remains to be built?

• Do proposed connections meet the workload’s capacity and latency requirements?

• Where do supposedly separate routes share infrastructure or access points?

• Are network construction and service activation aligned with the facility’s operating date?

Pillar 3: Land Brings The Dependencies Together In One Location

Land is where the infrastructure plan must become physically workable.

A property needs to accommodate the building and the systems that support it: electrical equipment, cooling infrastructure, access roads, service corridors, and any planned expansion.

An attractive purchase price is only one part of that assessment.

How Land Affects The Other Pillars

Location influences access to power, connectivity, water, and workforce. It also establishes the jurisdiction and applicable policy environment.

Site conditions and infrastructure extensions affect capital requirements. Climate, flood exposure, and resource availability influence design choices and long-term sustainability.

A decision to add a substation or change the cooling plant can alter the site layout. Those changes may reduce space available for future buildings or require additional property rights.

Land strategy is an infrastructure decision with consequences across the entire project.

What You Should Be Asking

• Does the site accommodate the complete infrastructure plan as well as the building?

• Which service connections depend on land or easements outside the property?

• What site conditions could change construction cost, design, or schedule?

• Is future expansion supported by infrastructure pathways as well as available acreage?

Pillar 4: Water Connects Cooling Design To Local Resources

Water requirements depend on how a facility manages heat.

Evaluating those requirements means examining the full cooling configuration, including the equipment serving the IT systems and the method used to reject heat outside the building.

A liquid-cooled server installation does not, by itself, describe the facility’s total water consumption.

How Water Affects The Other Pillars

Cooling connects directly to power, because pumps, fans, chillers, and other equipment consume electricity. System choices also affect land requirements, capital costs, maintenance workforce, and applicable policy requirements.

Microsoft provided a useful example in its December 2024 description of a new data center design. The company described closed-loop cooling that eliminates water evaporation for cooling, while acknowledging increased energy use associated with replacing evaporative systems with mechanical cooling. Microsoft, Sustainable By Design.

The broader lesson is that water and energy performance must be assessed together. Reducing one resource requirement can change another, depending on the design and operating conditions.

What You Should Be Asking

• How does the complete cooling system move heat from the equipment to the outside environment?

• What water supply, quality, treatment, and discharge requirements apply?

• How would a lower-water design change electrical demand, equipment costs, and site layout?

• Can the system meet its intended performance during local peak-temperature conditions?

Pillar 5: Workforce Turns Design Into Operating Capability

A data center requires different skills at different stages.

Engineers and construction teams develop the facility. Electricians, mechanical specialists, network technicians, and controls teams install and integrate its systems. Commissioning specialists verify performance. Operators maintain the facility after handover.

A workforce assessment needs to account for when those skills are required and whether they are available.

How Workforce Affects The Other Pillars

Electrical infrastructure under power and cooling systems under water depend on qualified installation and maintenance teams. Connectivity requires specialists who can construct, test, and activate networks.

Land selection affects access to those workers. Training and mobilization require capital, while applicable licensing and safety requirements connect to policy.

Operating practices also influence sustainability. Equipment performance depends partly on how systems are monitored, maintained, and adjusted over time.

IOI’s analytical view is that workforce should be treated as a delivery dependency from the beginning of development.

What You Should Be Asking

• Which specialized skills are required during construction, commissioning, and operations?

• Are those teams available when the project schedule needs them?

• Does the proposed technology require additional supplier training or service support?

• Who will operate and maintain the facility after construction teams leave?

Pillar 6: Policy Shapes What Can Proceed And Under What Conditions

Policy establishes part of the environment in which infrastructure is developed and operated.

Depending on the location and project, relevant requirements may include land-use approvals, building permits, environmental reviews, water-related permissions, utility service rules, and requirements for onsite generation.

The specific pathway must be established for the actual jurisdiction and design.

How Policy Affects The Other Pillars

A decision affecting permitted equipment or operating conditions can change power and cooling design. Land-use conditions can affect land layout and expansion plans.

Review timelines influence capital deployment, procurement, and workforce scheduling. Environmental and resource requirements connect directly to sustainability.

Coordination matters because a material design change may need to be evaluated for its effect on existing applications or approvals.

An early approval should therefore be understood in terms of what it covers and which decisions remain outstanding.

What You Should Be Asking

• Which authorities and service providers control decisions critical to this project?

• What does each approval cover, and what remains unresolved?

• Which design changes would require further review?

• How are approval conditions reflected in the budget, construction schedule, and operating plan?

Pillar 7: Capital Funds The Commitments Between Milestones

Capital supports the work required before a facility produces revenue.

Those commitments may include land acquisition, design, infrastructure contributions, equipment deposits, construction, and preparation for operations.

The financing plan needs to reflect when those costs occur and what evidence is available at each stage.

How Capital Affects The Other Pillars

Funding availability influences when power equipment can be ordered, connectivity construction can begin, and workforce can be mobilized.

At the same time, uncertainty in service delivery, policy approvals, or land development changes the risks that investors and lenders must evaluate.

A delay in energization may extend the period between construction spending and customer revenue. A cooling redesign may alter both upfront costs and future operating expenses.

The relationship works in both directions: infrastructure milestones affect financing decisions, and financing decisions affect infrastructure delivery.

What You Should Be Asking

• Which commitments must be funded before approvals, service delivery, or customer occupancy are certain?

• What milestones govern the release of financing?

• How does the financial plan respond to delayed power, higher construction costs, or slower occupancy?

• Are infrastructure contributions, commissioning, and operating preparation included in the budget?

Pillar 8: Sustainability Connects Design Choices To Long-Term Performance

Sustainability examines how the facility uses resources and manages environmental impacts over its life.

For data centers, that includes energy efficiency, electricity-related emissions, water use, equipment and construction impacts, and the practicality of long-term operating commitments.

These considerations influence decisions throughout development.

How Sustainability Affects The Other Pillars

An energy strategy changes power procurement and potentially infrastructure requirements. A water-reduction objective can change cooling design, electrical demand, and capital costs.

Heat recovery may require additional equipment, a nearby heat user, suitable land, and commercial arrangements. Performance targets depend on workforce practices and may intersect with policy obligations.

The U.S. Department of Energy has identified onsite generation, storage, and demand flexibility among the options for addressing data center electricity needs. Whether these options suit a particular facility depends on its engineering and operating requirements. U.S. Department Of Energy.

IOI’s perspective is that sustainability commitments should be connected to a defined design, operating plan, and measurement approach.

What You Should Be Asking

• Which energy, water, and emissions outcomes will the project measure?

• What boundaries do those measurements cover: onsite operations, purchased electricity, or wider lifecycle impacts?

• What trade-offs arise between water savings, electricity use, reliability, and cost?

• Who is responsible for verifying performance after the facility begins operating?

What Happens When One Pillar Changes?

Consider an illustrative project that changes its cooling design to reduce evaporative water consumption.

That decision begins in the Water pillar, but its effects can extend throughout the project:

1. Power: Engineers reassess electrical demand under the revised cooling design.

2. Land: Designers review the space and access required for different equipment.

3. Policy: The team checks whether the change affects applicable reviews or approvals.

4. Capital: The budget and operating-cost assumptions are updated.

5. Workforce: Installation, commissioning, and maintenance requirements are reassessed.

6. Connectivity: Any effects on shared service corridors or construction sequencing are checked.

7. Sustainability: The project evaluates the combined water, energy, and emissions outcome.

This is an illustrative dependency review, not a claim that every cooling change affects every pillar equally.

The purpose is to identify consequences before they become unexpected costs or delays.

Where Coordination Creates Partnership Opportunities

Infrastructure dependencies create specific reasons for companies to work together.

A cooling supplier may need an electrical engineering partner to help customers evaluate the power implications of a retrofit.

A land developer may need a utility, carrier, and engineering team to establish a credible service pathway before presenting a site to potential customers.

An energy provider may need a controls company and data center operator to assess how generation or storage would function within the facility’s operating requirements.

An equipment supplier may need a training or service partner to support installation and ongoing maintenance.

These are potential partnership structures. Their value depends on the customer problem they solve and the responsibilities each party can fulfill.

The strongest starting point is a specific dependency: what the customer needs, what is preventing progress, and which organizations can resolve it together.

How To Apply The Eight-Pillar Framework

Begin with a defined project, operating phase, and customer requirement.

For each pillar, record:

• What must be delivered.

• What evidence supports its availability.

• Which other pillars it depends on.

• Who owns the next action.

• When that action must be completed.

• What changes if the milestone is missed.

Then examine the relationships.

Do the power, cooling, and IT assumptions describe the same facility? Do network service dates align with customer deployment? Does financing cover the work required before operations begin?

Repeat this review when material assumptions change.

The purpose is to build a shared view of the project that different organizations can act on.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are The Eight Pillars Of Data Center Infrastructure?

IOI’s Eight-Pillar Framework includes Power, Connectivity, Land, Water, Workforce, Policy, Capital, and Sustainability. It is IOI’s analytical framework for examining the infrastructure and enabling conditions required to develop and operate data centers.

Why Is A Data Center A Coordination Problem?

A data center depends on systems with different owners, requirements, and delivery schedules. Those systems must be compatible and available together. A delay or design change in one area can affect costs, timing, and operating capability elsewhere.

Which Pillar Is The Most Important?

The most consequential constraint depends on the project and its stage. Power may determine capacity and timing, while another project may be constrained by approvals, connectivity, cooling, financing, or workforce availability. A viable plan must address all essential dependencies.

How Do Power And Water Affect Each Other?

Cooling equipment uses electricity, and some cooling configurations consume water through evaporation. Changing the cooling design can alter both water consumption and electrical demand. The relationship must be evaluated for the complete system and local operating conditions.

How Does The Framework Help Identify Partnerships?

The framework helps reveal where one company’s contribution depends on another’s. Those relationships can identify opportunities for joint engineering, coordinated delivery, service agreements, training, or commercial partnerships tied to a specific customer need.

The IOI Perspective

A data center brings multiple industries into one operating requirement.

Utilities, carriers, developers, equipment manufacturers, engineers, contractors, investors, public authorities, and operating teams each contribute part of the result.

Understanding the market means understanding how those contributions depend on one another.

Infrastructure of Intelligence™ connects research across eight foundational pillars to help leaders understand where they fit, who they need to work with, and what must come together to turn AI demand into operating infrastructure.

Workforce

Policy

Capital

Sustainability