Tag: infrastructure

Why Efficiency Must Lead the Response to AI’s Surging Energy and Water Demand

Editor’s note: FM Perspectives are industry op-eds. The views expressed are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of Facilities Management Advisor. As artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates the construction of data centers, utilities are rapidly investing in energy infrastructure, including new power generation, transmission lines, and grid upgrades, to keep pace with the surge in energy […]

Skilled Trades Labor Shortage Reaches ‘Critical Inflection Point’

As the United States grapples with aging building stock and the need for infrastructure modernization, a critical workforce challenge threatens the commercial real estate sector’s ability to maintain, modernize, and operate the built environment. JLL’s latest skilled trades talent research reveals that by 2030, an estimated 2.1 million skilled trades positions for electricians, HVAC technicians, […]

District Energy and Data Centers: A Strategic Partnership for the Future

Hyperscale data center growth is running headlong into real-world constraints—interconnection queues, transformer lead times, water stress, community scrutiny, and tightening climate policy. At the same time, the thermal profile of the data center sector is shifting decisively from air to liquid cooling, concentrating heat into a form far more useful than a plume of hot […]

Real Estate Power Crunch: Will Energy Availability Beat Location for Future Facilities?

As many companies face ongoing power disruptions and other energy needs, the traditional real estate mantra of “location, location, location” is increasingly giving way to “location, resilience, reliability,” according to JLL’s new “Where Energy Meets Property” report. Energy availability and security is fast becoming a defining factor in commercial real estate (CRE) decision-making, with critical […]

Texas Poised to Become Global Leader in Booming Data Center Market

The North American data center market has “entered hyperdrive,” and the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) demand, hyperscaler expansion, and grid constraints is fundamentally reshaping where digital infrastructure gets built. That’s according to JLL’s new North America Data Center Report – Year-End 2025. The North America data center industry has reached an inflection point, with vacancy […]

Protecting Critical Infrastructure from Gunfire: What Facilities Leaders Need to Know

Electric utilities, water authorities, and energy providers operate some of the most critical infrastructure in the country. Substations, pumping stations, and transmission facilities are designed for reliability and efficiency, not for absorbing hostile fire. Yet over the past several years, gunshot attacks against these sites have increased, exposing a security gap that many facilities teams […]

VA Announces Nearly $5B to Improve Healthcare Facilities

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it will spend $4.8 billion in fiscal year 2026 to modernize, repair, and improve healthcare facilities as part of the Veterans Health Administration’s Non-Recurring Maintenance (NRM) program, which makes infrastructure improvements to healthcare facilities to ensure safe and effective patient care. This is the largest single-year NRM […]

Global Data Center Market Navigates AI Boom, Energy Constraints, and More

The global data center sector is poised for continued unprecedented expansion, with capacity expected to nearly double from 103 GW to 200 GW by 2030, according to JLL’s newly released 2026 Global Data Center Outlook. Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the data center landscape, and JLL anticipates AI workloads will represent half of all data […]

Cybersecurity Risks of Legacy Systems in Facilities Management

Facilities management is becoming increasingly digital, yet many organizations still rely on outdated systems that may not be able to weather modern cybersecurity threats. Legacy systems, or older hardware and software that remain in use, can silently expose facilities to significant risks. 4 Cybersecurity Risks of Legacy Systems Despite years or decades of service, legacy […]

How Healthcare Institutions Are Rethinking Energy Infrastructure

Hospitals and healthcare systems are navigating unprecedented complexity. Facility executives are expected to deliver uninterrupted service, modernize aging infrastructure, and comply with mandates, all while managing constrained capital budgets. At the same time, rising energy prices, increased grid volatility, and the growing frequency of extreme weather are putting additional strain on critical systems. Nonprofit healthcare […]