PodChats for FutureCOO: Orchestrating Your AI Infrastructure: The COO's 2026 Playbook

As we move into 2026, AI is no longer a strategic experiment—it’s the engine of operational transformation. Across Asia, COOs are stepping beyond traditional oversight roles to become chief orchestrators of AI infrastructure: the complex, dynamic backbone that powers everything from real-time customer insights to autonomous supply chains. 

But what does it truly mean to build “AI-ready” infrastructure in a region defined by rapid innovation, diverse regulatory regimes, and intensifying pressure on energy and talent?

In this PodChats for FutureCOO, we are joined by Tejaswini Tilak, VP, Marketing, APAC, Digital Realty, who will share her perspective on Orchestrating the organisation’s AI Infrastructure as viewed by the COO in 2026.

1.       How can we ensure our AI infrastructure investments deliver long-term operational agility and business value amid rapidly shifting AI models, regulations, and market conditions across Asia?

2.       What operating model enables us to efficiently manage both compute-intensive AI training and real-time, low-latency inference—especially as business units demand responsiveness from factory floors to customer touchpoints?

3.       As AI inference moves closer to end users and industrial operations, how must we evolve our edge and colocation footprint to guarantee uptime, performance, and disaster resilience across diverse Asian markets?

4.       Given Asia’s patchwork of data sovereignty laws, how can we standardize data governance across markets while enabling seamless AI operations and avoiding regulatory penalties or business delays?

5.       Beyond raw compute, which operational metrics—such as time-to-decision, energy-per-inference, or cost-per-AI-outcome—should drive our AI infrastructure strategy and investment reviews?

6.       How do we balance the surging energy demands of AI with our corporate sustainability commitments and operational cost targets—without compromising scalability or performance?

7.       What strategic partnerships—with digital infrastructure providers, energy utilities, and technology vendors—are essential to de-risk and accelerate our AI operational roadmap across Asia in 2026–2027?

8.       Drawing from your observations in the market in 2025, what advise can you offer COOs and other members of the C-Suite when it comes to their investment strategies for 2026? 

9.       With 2026 just around the corner, what are you expectations of things to come?