Written by: Bill Tanner
Dan Evets, Vice President, ALICE Technologies, says relentless upgrade cycles mean that even minor delays in data centre projects can translate into major financial losses for operators.
In the data centre industry, final delivery of a new site isn’t as final as it may seem. After a new facility is completed, the technology inside will need refreshing within just a few years.
As demand grows and the performance of servers, cooling systems and battery storage accelerates, upgrade cycles have become relentless for asset owners. And if these retrofits run late, the cost can be staggering.
“Delays kill profit,” said Dan Evets, Vice President, ALICE Technologies. “We’ve seen cases where one day off-track on a large-scale data centre build equates to more than £4 million in lost revenue.”
This figure reflects a shift in how the sector works. Data centre owners no longer plan one-off construction projects; they manage an ongoing programme of build, upgrade and optimisation across their portfolio.
Any slip in delivery can lead to contractual penalties, reduced performance and a reduction in market share.
Despite this, many upgrade projects are still managed using planning tools that aren’t really fit for purpose. These tools are often rigid, slow to update and incapable of quickly simulating multiple outcomes at once.
When supply chain issues arise or specialist trades are delayed, project teams are left scrambling to find a solution, without fully understanding the time and cost implications of their decisions.
Improving planning flexibility
Changes are inevitable during a data centre project because of the tight timelines and wide range of specialist products and trades. But when every day counts, guessing the best way forward isn’t sustainable.
Some developers are turning to generative scheduling platforms, like ALICE Technologies, that help them explore different construction options and mitigate any risks before committing to a final retrofit plan.
These tools simulate real-world constraints, such as delays in product delivery or extreme weather and test how different sequences of work could reduce the risk of missed deadlines.
“By running these simulations in advance, owners and contractors can make faster, more informed decisions,” said Evets. “They can also adapt more easily mid-project, reshuffling tasks to keep schedules on track, without increasing cost or complexity.”
Bringing consistency to repeat retrofits
As upgrade projects become more frequent, many data centre operators are now simultaneously managing multiple retrofit projects.
While each site has unique constraints, live operations, access limitations and local labour shortages, the types of upgrades often follow a similar pattern.
This creates an opportunity to bring consistency and efficiency to the process. Project teams can apply lessons from previous upgrades to new ones by just adjusting the site-specific constraints.
For example, if a recent retrofit revealed that a specific trade handover caused delays, software can simulate an improved sequence for the next project before work begins. This approach reduces risk, shortens planning cycles and avoids repeating costly mistakes.
This can also help if something goes wrong. Commonly, general contractors ask owners what course of action they would like to proceed with.
In most situations, owners take the best guess and hope that the cost of that decision is minimal.
Instead, owners can use technology, like ALICE, to understand the implications of decisions and make more informed choices to support the contractors as effectively as possible.
Making changes now
As more facilities reach the limits of their original design and products, the need to modernise existing sites will only grow.
Yet the backlog of demand is also expanding across Europe and North America as operators race to scale up. At the same time, shortages in labour and long lead times for critical equipment continue to slow down delivery.
Without the ability to adapt fast, many data centre projects risk running late, over budget, or both. And when we see millions of pounds lost each day, this can have long-term consequences.
“Most people in this space understand how to build. But the challenge now is how to upgrade quickly, flexibly and without wasting time when things go wrong,” said Evets.
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