Concrete Innovations at Compass Datacenters

Nancy Novak, Chief Innovation Officer, Compass Datacenters is a firm believer that innovation comes in different forms, and she knows it’s people, processes and systems that drive innovations.

Those three key focuses drive Novak’s work at Compass Datacenters, and she opened up to host Raymond Hawkins about some of the exciting innovations happening at Compass.

Novak’s concentration is on improving the data center construction process. She noted that process efficiencies on the job site hadn’t improved much over the years, even as the technology and building processes have.

“A lot of people will be like, ‘Wait a minute, we do offsite componentry, we do prefab, we do other things that help us,’” Novak said. “I agree with that, but it’s 100% not normalized in our business, and it’s done kind of on the fringes. I’m trying to get us to normalize those processes.”

Creating innovations isn’t something done alone in a box. Novak relies on a multitude of ideas from various people. People drive the best ideas and make necessary process improvements. And it isn’t just diversity in ethnicity in people that’s important; it’s also diversity in the experience.

“And in our industry, we have all of them,” Novak said. “I focus on collaborating with all the different layers within our industry.”

Concrete is an important building material in the data center construction process. But what Novak and her team look at is ways to improve that process to make it more efficient, stronger and more sustainable.

“There are so many advantages to concrete,” Novak said. “It’s affordable. It’s readily available. It’s fireproof. CarbonCure is one of the things that helps supplement the cement part of it.”

And Novak mentioned other technologies could be layered on to this process to make it even more sustainable.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

Drive In, Drive Out: The Rhythm of Metropolis
April 15, 2026

Behind the seemingly mundane choreography of a drive-in lies a broader story about how modern cities script behavior, turning even the simplest actions into rehearsed routines. What looks like repetition is really a quiet testament to systems designed for flow and control, where efficiency often outweighs individuality. In places like Metropolis, the rhythm of…

Read More
telemetry
Visibility at Scale: How Data, Telemetry, and IT Architecture Enable High-Performance Data Centers
April 14, 2026

As AI infrastructure scales at an unprecedented pace, the complexity of managing data center operations has shifted from purely physical challenges to deeply digital ones. Today’s facilities generate enormous volumes of telemetry, and industry estimates suggest hyperscale and AI data centers produce millions of data points per second. At that scale, visibility is no…

Read More
healthcare
The Early-Stage Playbook for Healthcare Founders: Credibility, Founder Mindset, and Real Market Fit
April 13, 2026

Healthcare innovation is having a moment. With over 500 startups applying annually to leading accelerators like Health Wildcatters, the sector is seeing a surge of founders eager to tackle inefficiencies in care delivery, diagnostics, and patient experience. At the same time, digital health is regaining momentum—after a period of market correction, funding went up…

Read More
apprenticeship degree
Career-Connected Health Care: Why the Apprenticeship Degree Is the Future
April 13, 2026

Hospitals across the country are feeling the strain—too many open roles, not enough trained professionals, and a growing gap between what students learn and what the job actually demands on day one. Training is getting more expensive, timelines are stretching, and healthcare leaders are being forced to rethink how new clinicians enter the field….

Read More