Michael Welch is a seasoned data center industry professional with 13+ years of experience in leveraging a unique background in engineering and design to deliver time- and cost-saving solutions for leading organizations’ development operations. As SVP of Procurement and Design at Aligned, he spearheads a talented team across all design operations for Aligned’s data center construction projects and skillfully navigates the dynamics and tradeoffs of data center development. This role involves managing several design engineering and OFE teams across the US while liaising with financial and revenue teams for all new projects.
DATA CENTER DESIGN OVERVIEW
How has data center design adapted to the evolving technological landscape?
Developers are adopting a more sophisticated approach to how they buy, plan, and deploy the parts and pieces to build a data center. When you pair long development cycles with the changing technical landscape, you need to maintain some level of flexibility throughout the process. Design and supply chain standardization are key to make sure you have a product that can keep up with pace of innovation.
What emerging trends and innovations are shaping the future of data center design?
I’d offer up a few: higher densities, creative power generation, waterless heat rejection, and energy storage.
A great supply chain strategy is critical to growing at an unprecedented pace and scale like Aligned. Can you share some key aspects of yours?
At Aligned our supply chain providers are partners, not vendors. Partners are key to the success in any data center program, and we all share the mutual benefits. This lens breeds our “highest value” procurement philosophy in lieu of “lowest bidder.” We also say what we’re going to do and do what we say and build our approach around the deep interconnection of data center design and equipment throughout the organization to optimize speed, quality, economics, and functionality. Finally, we make hard decisions and see “being complete” not as nothing left to add, but as nothing left to take away.
What is Aligned doing to innovate in data center cooling to ensure continued competitiveness?
We’ve been deploying a waterless heat rejection project for the last half decade, which reduces strain on local resources and removes a key land enablement metric. We’re also making it easier for our customers to deploy infrastructure in hybrid data center cooling environments through our patented our Delta Cube air cooling and DeltaFlow~ liquid cooling. We consult and actively work with our customers to understand the best way to remove heat from their infrastructure; the earlier that we can engage, the more we can support with our base building systems.
How is Aligned adapting to the evolving landscape of land and power constraints, and what are the key challenges and opportunities it faces?
Where there is uncertainty, there is opportunity. To combat increasing resource demands and a growing movement to pause or slow down data center development, we can educate the public on the benefits of data centers and how we are good neighbors; build deeper, more engaged relationships with utility companies; employ creative strategies that produce energy in times of need; and design and build efficient data centers with low Power Usage Effectiveness (PUEs) to reduce the energy burden for facilities.
MY ALIGNED STORY
How Long You’ve Worked at Aligned: 13 years. I started out of college working for a company called Inertech that had innovative cooling technology with a particular focus around modular data center construction. Around 2015, Aligned Energy was formed with several business units, including our colocation data center arm and Inertech. Over the next several years, we focused this business on designing, building, and operating large-scale data center facilities. I then moved into the data centers business and was tasked with building out our supply chain and design programs.
What Your Typical Day at Aligned Looks Like: I try to adhere to the “Save your hardest meeting for 10 a.m.” philosophy. I interact with different business units inside of Aligned and with our customers / partner base while trying to balance all the activities and projects we have going on. I’m known for the “second shift,” which I define as time in the evening to do head-down work without distraction. I find this time to be both reflective and preparatory for the next day.
Your Favorite Aligned Innovation: The Delta Cube, DeltaFlow~, and how we’ve been able to build a design and supply chain around a core product that we can keep consistent across the country (even into LATAM).
Your Biggest Aligned Accomplishment: The team we have built at Aligned and how they have grown. We have such a depth of sophisticated and talented data center developers.
How do you ensure that your organization remains agile and adaptable to change?
Set the right foundation with your land enablement, design, and supply chain strategy. Then be ready to pivot those tools as needed to meet the ever-changing technology landscape. My other top tips: Solicit and act on information early to determine trends; Be hungry to learn more and think outside the box; Listen to customers and partners; Develop deep relationships with chip providers; And be fast and effective in internal communication.
