The Overview
A major AI company engaged Align to conduct an independent, engineering-driven evaluation of its leased data center facility in Minnesota.
The retrofitted, multi-story facility — originally built in 1977 and undergoing modernization — is intended to support critical AI-intensive workloads at up to 10MW+ of critical load. Align was brought in to validate infrastructure readiness and provide a clear path forward.
The Challenge
The facility’s age and modernization status introduced significant risk across the infrastructure:
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Single Points of Failure: Materially increasing the likelihood of outages, SLA breaches, and hardware losses
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Aging Infrastructure: Assets beyond useful life elevates risk to reliability
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Operational Gaps: Increased human-error risk, slower incident response, and low operational maturity
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Environmental & Mechanical Risk: Cooling-related incidents and maintenance downtime creating ongoing exposure
The Solution
Align performed a comprehensive, engineering-driven assessment of the client’s leased facility, evaluating their electrical and mechanical systems, emergency power, fire protection & security, and site & operational readiness.
Findings were translated into a phased remediation roadmap – prioritized by risk severity and aligned with the client’s growth trajectory and capital planning cycles.
The Results
Align’s assessment surfaced critical risks before the client could derail a major AI infrastructure investment – saving the client millions in potential downtime, capital misallocation, and premature facility abandonment.
- High-density AI risk quantified
- Capital refresh prioritized
- Facility viability validated
- Migration costs avoided
- Landlord leverage strengthened
About Align
Align is a premier provider of technology infrastructure solutions. For over 35 years, leading firms worldwide have relied on Align to guide them through IT challenges, delivering complete, secure solutions for business change and growth. Align is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and has offices in New York City, London, Chicago, San Francisco, Arizona, New Jersey, and Virginia. Learn more at www.align.com.
To learn more, contact our team today: https://www.align.com/contact