SMART APPROACH TO INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING
A highly selective liberal arts college in New England, recognized for its rigorous undergraduate education and international reach, recently embarked on a strategic plan to reshape its mission for the next ten years and beyond. Part of this plan includes how the school will prioritize research and operations as AI and digital technologies rapidly evolve. An NSF-funded high-performance computing (HPC) cluster already supports GPU-powered research, but a more scalable, resilient infrastructure would be required to align with modern data workflows and the school’s long-term vision.
RECONCILING EXISTING DATA CENTERS WITH FUTURE EXPECTATIONS
Like many higher education campuses, the school had multiple data center environments, including a leased off-site space, and sought an assessment that could balance facility realities with a dynamic high-performance technology strategy. Institutional leaders were intent on future-proofing infrastructure investments, ensuring they could support emerging computing needs without significant capital expense.
LEDG was selected for its vendor-agnostic approach as well as its ability to evaluate data center strategy from the inside out. This meant looking at technology platforms, related data, network architecture, and redundancy requirements, and then validating whether the physical environment truly supported those evolving demands.
ENABLING CONFIDENT, LONG-TERM INFRASTRUCTURE DECISIONS
LEDG conducted a comprehensive assessment of four data center spaces, on campus and off, evaluating each through multiple lenses, from footprint, mechanical, and electrical to IT and telecom systems. Special attention was paid to the power, UPS, and cooling systems that would be needed to accommodate emerging AI workloads. Rather than delivering a single recommendation, LEDG provided two viable options, allowing stakeholders to weigh investment decisions based on risk tolerance, timing, and budget.
The team worked closely with IT and facilities leadership to preserve existing network and fiber connectivity, avoid unnecessary capital expense, and ensure continuity of service, an approach validated in real time when a subsequent campus power event confirmed the redundancy assumptions outlined in the assessment findings. The result was a flexible, forward-looking assessment that aligned infrastructure planning with institutional expectations, enabling leadership to:
The IT and facilities team now has a clear path forward and shared understanding of how to support the college’s strategic plan, in which the digital infrastructure will play a critical role.
“The college distinguished itself by taking a thoughtful, collaborative approach to planning making sure today’s infrastructure and IT decisions will strengthen rather than restrict their future capabilities.”
Bambi Rivera, Practice Leader Technology Services
Leading Edge Design Group