Singapore, 1 October 2026 — Joe Gooi, co-founder and chief executive of SC Zeus Data Centers, joined industry leaders for the Economist Enterprise panel “Building Future-Fit Data Centres” at the FM Intellium Forum. Moderated by Charles Ross, head of policy and insights for Asia-Pacific at Economist Enterprise, the conversation examined how the data centres being developed today can remain resilient and useful as demands on digital infrastructure change.
From a developer’s perspective, Joe emphasised that future readiness begins before construction. Power capacity must be assessed alongside the certainty of its delivery, the timing of energisation and the ability to expand. The assumptions behind customer demand, technology requirements and project schedules also need to withstand scrutiny before major capital is committed.
AI workloads are changing computing density and cooling needs rapidly, while a data centre building may operate for decades. Joe discussed the value of designing electrical and cooling systems with enough flexibility to accommodate future requirements, including higher-density and liquid-cooled environments.
The panel also explored the tension between speed to market and long-term resilience. Standardisation, modular construction, prefabrication and early equipment planning can help reduce delays. Fundamental engineering, safety and regulatory work remain essential to a dependable facility.
Across Asia-Pacific, there is no single development template. Investment discipline, safety and resilience principles can be applied consistently, but power arrangements, climate, permitting and construction conditions require local solutions. The discussion underscored the need to consider these factors together: a change in cooling requirements, for example, can also affect power, water and the wider investment case.
SC Zeus thanks Economist Enterprise, FM Intellium, and the fellow panellists for the opportunity to exchange perspectives on building data centres that can adapt to the needs of tomorrow.
