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Data Center World
April 20-23, 2026
Walter E. Washington Convention CenterWashington, D.C.
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State of the Data Center 2026: Inside the Most Transformative Era in Digital Infrastructure

Bill Kleyman  (Executive Chairman, DCW and Co-Founder, CEO, Apolo.us)
Location: Ballroom C
Date: Wednesday, April 22
Time: 10:00 am - 10:45 am
Pass Type: AFCOM Solution Provider, All Access Conference, Industry Conference, Standard Conference - Get your pass now!
Track: Colocation, Hyperscale & Cloud Innovation
Session Type: Conference Session
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: All Audiences
Bill Kleyman

The data center industry is experiencing the most rapid and dramatic evolution in its history. In 2025 and 2026, explosive AI demand, unprecedented power constraints, and a global capacity race are redefining how facilities are designed, built, and operated. In this year’s State of the Data Center session, Bill Kleyman, Informa’s Executive Chair of Data Center Programs and CEO of Apolo.us, delivers an energizing and deeply data-driven look at what is changing, why it matters, and where the industry is heading.

Drawing from the AFCOM State of the Data Center 2026 Report, Bill will break down seismic shifts across growth, power, cooling, cloud trends, operational risks, and infrastructure economics. We will explore how the industry has moved from adding a few megawatts per quarter to adding hundreds of megawatts each month, how U.S. colocation capacity has doubled, and how average rack densities have surged from 7 kW in 2021 to well over 20 kW today. With nearly 80 percent of operators expecting further increases driven by AI clusters and HPC workloads, the density curve is nowhere near flattening.

This session will dive into:
• Liquid cooling adoption
• The emergence of hydrogen and nuclear as real power strategies
• The rise of FinOps and cloud repatriation
• Escalating outage impacts
• The new security challenges introduced by AI-driven operations

If you want a clear, compelling, and future-focused understanding of what the next era of digital infrastructure looks like, this presentation is essential. Bill brings the trends to life, connects the dots, and delivers a practical roadmap for navigating one of the most exciting and disruptive moments our industry has ever seen.