By Oluwatunmise Omoseyin
Schneider Electric has predicted that 2026 will be a major turning point for data centres, as artificial intelligence moves from disruption to full scale integration across industries.
The Country President of Schneider Electric West Africa, Ajibola Akindele, while speaking about the future of the sector, said the breakthroughs of AI in recent years were only the beginning, stressing that the next phase would focus on AI inferencing and deeper integration into data centre operations.
He explained that since ChatGPT brought AI into public awareness in late 2022, the technology has reshaped sectors such as healthcare, education and business.
According to him, 2026 will be a defining year as attention shifts from large language models to AI systems that can reason, learn and operate with minimal supervision.
Akindele said the data centre industry is already preparing for heavier and denser AI workloads, which will require advanced cooling systems, retrofitting of existing facilities, and the rise of what he described as AI factories. Digital twins, he added, will also become more common as operators seek greater efficiency and resilience.
AI is no longer just a tool; it is a transformative force that demands the right infrastructure to unlock its full potential. In 2026, organizations that strategically invest in AI ready data centers, with advanced cooling, modular designs, and energy efficient solutions, will gain the agility, resilience, and competitive edge needed to lead in the AI driven economy – Akindele stated.
He stated that manufacturers using AI for demand forecasting have improved accuracy significantly, while hospitals are applying AI to billing, appointment scheduling and identifying high risk patients. Financial institutions are also using AI for fraud detection, payment optimisation and risk management.
In data centres, AI driven cooling systems, predictive analytics and energy management tools are helping operators reduce waste and integrate renewable energy more efficiently. Akindele said AI agents will soon become central to business processes, increasing the demand for specialised data centre capacity.
He described AI factories as data centres designed to generate intelligence rather than simply store data. These facilities handle model training, fine tuning and inferencing to produce insights that can directly drive revenue and decision making.
According to him, AI rack densities are expected to take an upward trajectory, reaching as high as 240 kW per rack in 2026, with research already exploring even higher levels. This growth, he said, will make advanced liquid cooling a standard requirement rather than an option.
Akindele added that smaller companies will rely on upgrading existing facilities instead of building new ones, making AI readiness more accessible beyond large global players. He also said the use of diverse energy sources, including renewables and battery storage, will remain critical as data centres prepare for an AI driven future.
