AI Pressure on Data Center for Leaders to Solve Cooling and Power Limits with Kevin Fuller

In this episode of Built To Scale, Paul Koetke sits down with Kevin Fuller, Critical Environment Operations Manager at Microsoft, to unpack the hidden infrastructure powering the AI boom and why data centers are being pushed to their limits. Kevin shares his journey from the US Navy’s nuclear submarine program to leading mission-critical operations in a modern data center. The conversation breaks down the surprising overlap between nuclear systems and data infrastructure, the challenges of maintaining uptime, and how AI is forcing the entire industry to rethink power, cooling, and scalability. From water usage myths to real-world infrastructure constraints, this episode offers a grounded look at what it actually takes to keep the digital world running. Key Takeaways: AI is rapidly increasing demand for power, cooling, and compute infrastructure. Data centers operate with strict, mission-critical safety and uptime procedures. Power availability and cooling capacity are the main infrastructure bottlenecks. Water is used mainly for efficient cooling and modern facilities are more efficient. Data centers deliver high economic value relative to their energy and water use. Skilled people remain the most critical factor in data center operations, even with AI. Episode Timestamps: [0:03] - Introduction to Kevin Fuller [3:21] - Lessons from Nuclear Submarine Operations [4:15] - Mission-Critical Systems [7:20] - Maintaining vs Building Data Center [10:19] - Legacy Systems vs Standardised Designs [12:37] - AI’s Impact on Data Centre Growth [14:25] - Water Usage in Data Center Explained [17:14] - Comparing Industrial Water Usage [19:36] - Economic Output of Data Center [21:13] - Scaling Teams and Operations [24:10] - Where the Industry Should Invest Next Connect with the Host Paul Koetke: LinkedIn:   / paulkoetke   Connect with the Guest Kevin Fuller: LinkedIn:   / fullerkevinj   More from Koetke Consulting: Website: https://www.koetkeconsulting.com/ LinkedIn:  / koetke-consulting