Everything looked good on paper.
The new AI servers had the processing power the company needed. The GPU specifications checked out. Even the budget had been approved.
Then someone from the facilities team asked, “Do we have enough power to run these things?"
Suddenly, the project wasn't so straightforward. The servers would fit in the racks, but the existing power and cooling infrastructure wasn't necessarily equipped to handle them.
It's a challenge more of our clients are facing as AI becomes part of their data center plans.
Traditional server upgrades have generally focused on improving performance, capacity and efficiency. AI changes the requirements considerably. GPU-intensive workloads can draw significantly more electricity, generate more heat and require cooling systems that many existing data centers weren't designed to support.
According to Gartner, AI-optimized servers will account for 31% of worldwide data center electricity consumption in 2026. By 2027, Gartner expects them to consume more electricity than conventional servers.
As data center experts, we encourage clients to consider the entire environment before investing in new AI servers. What workloads are they planning to run? How much processing power do they actually need? Can their existing infrastructure support the additional demand? And what will it cost to operate?
Right-sizing matters. Buying more server capacity than you need is expensive. Discovering your data center can't support it is even worse.
At LRS IT Solutions, we’ll evaluate these requirements and recommend solutions like Dell Technologies PowerEdge servers, that fit their workloads and existing infrastructure. According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, Dell Technologies ranked #1 among sesrvers in Q2 2026, with 13.4% market share.
Planning an AI server upgrade? Talk with an LRS IT Solutions expert before you invest. We'll help you evaluate your current environment, identify potential power and cooling limitations, and choose the right server infrastructure for your AI workloads. Get the answers now, before costly surprises turn up the heat.
Sources:
- Gartner, Data Center Electricity Consumption Forecast, June 10, 2026.
- IDC, Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, Q2 2026, published September 2026.