Critical Facilities Summit Brings Stacked Lineup to Charlotte for September Event

Aug. 20, 2014
The Critical Facilities Summit will take over North Carolina’s Charlotte Convention Center September 29-October 1 with an impressive roster of presenters and a number of exciting workshops.

The Critical Facilities Summit will take over North Carolina’s Charlotte Convention Center September 29-October 1 with an impressive roster of presenters and a number of exciting workshops.

Launched in 2013 , the CFS unites senior-level professionals working in data centers, labs, hospitals, financials, e-tailers and other mission critical facilities for a unique three-day educational conference and exhibition. The event is the only one of its kind, serving professionals responsible for the design, construction management and operations of mission critical facilities and data center operations.

A sold out exhibition hall and robust presentation schedule await 2014 CFS attendees

The sold out exhibition hall will display more than 100 suppliers and service providers, who will feature their new products and solutions for improved data center efficiency, performance, reliability and maintenance functions. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with  Siemens, Duke Energy, TileFlow, ABB, Kohler Power Systems, among others. A waiting list has been established for companies and suppliers who wish to exhibit at the 2015 Critical Facilities Summit.

“The fact that the Critical Facilities Summit exhibit floor is sold out… is a really strong indication of the vitality of the mission-critical facilities community,” says Todd Kotlarek, CFS director of live events.

The CFS’ educational component features sessions organized under five tracks:

  • High-Efficiency Initiatives and Opportunities
  • Designing and Building Mission Critical
  • Operations and Maintenance Strategies
  • Best Practices in the Critical Facilities World
  • Project Spotlights

There will be over thirty 90-minute interactive educational sessions available to attendees. Programs will begin at 1 p.m. Monday, September 29 and run through 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, October 1.

The High-Efficiency Initiatives and Opportunities track will feature five sessions, taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday of the summit. Tuesday morning, attendees can begin their day at the 8 a.m. session “DCIM: More than just a Fancy PUE Console,” featuring Julius Neudorfer, chief technology officer at North American Access Technologies. Neudorfer will discuss the benefits of DCIM, and how it can be used to improve data center efficiency. In the afternoon, Smart Buildings, LLC Managing Principal Jim Sinopoli will present “Intelligent Controls: Challenges, Trouble Spots in Critical Facilities” at 3:30 p.m. to educate attendees about how controls contribute to energy savings and sustainability.

“Our general sessions are developed in collaboration with mission critical industry thought leaders to determine the topics that have the most impact on day-to-day facility management operations,” explains Wendy Dietzler, CFS director of education. “From there we create exclusive panel sessions that offer a broad range of perspectives and insights to explore some of today’s hottest topics in the mission critical community.”

The CFS recently announced that Joe Kava, vice president of data centers at Google, will be a featured presenter during “Successful Staffing Strategies for Data Centers,” alongside CenturyLink Vice President of Global Data Center Operations Joel Stone, and CFT Eco & CTS Eco Principal Kristen Vosmaer. The program will dive into what it takes to build an effective data center team and the impact that variables such as corporate culture and geography can have on the hiring and retention process. Kava has been an advocate for sustainable data centers and cloud computing while educating the international data center community about Google’s efficiency best-practices, and is responsible for engineering, environmental health and safety, critical facility operations, construction management and delivery, as well as sustainability for Google’s global fleet of data centers.

“In the mission critical world, Google often sets the trend for everything from design to cooling to energy efficiency — the same can be said for its approach to recruiting and hiring,” says Dietzler. “I’m thrilled Mr. Kava will lend his insights to this timely discussion; I anticipate a valuable information exchange among all the panelists.”

Registration for the 2014 CFS is currently open at www.criticalfacilitiessummit.com. Those interested in getting on the exhibitor waiting list for the 2015 CFS should contact Todd Kotlarek at [email protected].

Says Kotlarek: “In addition to the robust expo hall, our comprehensive conference agenda offers attendees a unique combination of valuable education and access to today’s leading suppliers and solution providers. It’s going to be a great show.”

About the Author

Kevin Normandeau | Publisher

Kevin is a veteran of the publishing industry having worked for brands like PC World, AOL, Network World, Data Center Knowledge and other business to business sites. He focuses on industry trends in the energy efficiency industry.