Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is pushing the boundaries of cloud computing with its integration of NVIDIA’s Blackwell Ultra GPUs, as announced at the GTC 2025 AI conference. While the performance enhancements promise a significant boost in artificial intelligence capabilities, the new technology brings along a host of challenges—most notably, the need for advanced liquid cooling solutions in data centres.
This move further integrates NVIDIA’s DGX Cloud offering into the OCI ecosystem, making it easier for enterprises to deploy and manage sophisticated AI infrastructures without having to rely on separate, complex setup processes. Instead, customers can leverage their existing Oracle Universal Credits to access the NVIDIA AI Enterprise suite directly through the OCI Console, enjoying simplified billing and rapid deployment.
Liquid cooling systems are emerging as a critical solution for managing the thermal challenges posed by high-powered GPU clusters. Unlike conventional air cooling, liquid cooling can more efficiently dissipate the intense heat generated by these advanced processors. Yet, implementing this technology is fraught with complexity:
• Data centre infrastructure must be re-engineered to support passive vs. active cooling methods, full-loop systems, or sidecar approaches.
• While server racks can be standardized—mirroring NVIDIA’s design setup—the broader data centre environment poses a much more intricate puzzle involving networking, scalability, and uptime reliability.
• The true challenge is not just the installation of GPUs but the ongoing management and operation of vast GPU clusters in a high-performance cooling ecosystem.
These challenges push the industry to innovate not only in hardware but also in infrastructure management, where the interplay between cooling, networking, and design choices will determine a cloud provider’s competitive edge.
Cloud providers typically purchase standardized racks from manufacturers, but it is the bespoke data centre design that ensures efficient operation under extreme thermal loads. Efficient liquid cooling, as opposed to relying solely on conventional methods, could be the key to fully unlocking the potential of NVIDIA’s powerful GPU solutions.
For example, Oracle is already working closely with Microsoft by integrating Oracle databases with a range of Microsoft’s services. At the same time, Google’s customer ecosystem and its strong AI model, Gemini, create additional avenues for collaboration. This multi-cloud approach not only improves service reliability but also accelerates AI adoption across different platforms.
Innovations in liquid cooling and GPU cluster management underscore the future of data centre design, ensuring that services remain robust, scalable, and energy-efficient. This is particularly important as businesses expect continuous uptime and increased computational power to support new applications, many of which run on Windows-based platforms.
• Liquid cooling is emerging as a necessary innovation—but one that demands a complete overhaul of traditional data centre designs.
• The real challenge lies in managing large-scale GPU clusters; advanced cooling mechanisms are essential to maintain uptime and performance reliability.
• Oracle is expanding its multi-cloud strategy by forging partnerships with Google, Microsoft Azure, and other key players, ensuring broad market reach and diversified deployment environments.
• These advancements not only enhance cloud infrastructure but also indirectly benefit Windows-based enterprise solutions, where reliable, high-performance computing is crucial.
In the coming months and years, success will hinge on how effectively data centres can evolve to manage the heat and complexity of advanced GPU clusters. This is not just a hardware upgrade—it’s a fundamental shift in the way we design, manage, and experience the digital backbone of modern computing.
Source: AIM ‘Most Data Centres Are Not Ready for Liquid Cooling’, says Oracle Exec on NVIDIA Blackwell
The NVIDIA Blackwell Leap in Cloud Computing
OCI’s adoption of NVIDIA’s Blackwell architecture represents a bold stride toward next-generation AI performance. The new Blackwell Ultra GPUs, which include the NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 rack-scale solution and NVIDIA HG B300 NVL16 system, offer up to 1.5 times the AI performance of their predecessors. These capabilities underpin Oracle’s recent launch of zettascale cloud clusters—systems boasting up to 131,072 GPUs that deliver a staggering 2.4 zettaFLOPS peak performance.This move further integrates NVIDIA’s DGX Cloud offering into the OCI ecosystem, making it easier for enterprises to deploy and manage sophisticated AI infrastructures without having to rely on separate, complex setup processes. Instead, customers can leverage their existing Oracle Universal Credits to access the NVIDIA AI Enterprise suite directly through the OCI Console, enjoying simplified billing and rapid deployment.
Liquid Cooling: The Next Frontier
However, with great power comes great heat. Karan Batta, OCI’s senior vice president, candidly remarked in an exclusive AIM interview, “Most data centres are not ready for liquid cooling.” The transition from air to liquid cooling is not just an upgrade—it’s a complete rethinking of data centre design.Liquid cooling systems are emerging as a critical solution for managing the thermal challenges posed by high-powered GPU clusters. Unlike conventional air cooling, liquid cooling can more efficiently dissipate the intense heat generated by these advanced processors. Yet, implementing this technology is fraught with complexity:
• Data centre infrastructure must be re-engineered to support passive vs. active cooling methods, full-loop systems, or sidecar approaches.
• While server racks can be standardized—mirroring NVIDIA’s design setup—the broader data centre environment poses a much more intricate puzzle involving networking, scalability, and uptime reliability.
• The true challenge is not just the installation of GPUs but the ongoing management and operation of vast GPU clusters in a high-performance cooling ecosystem.
These challenges push the industry to innovate not only in hardware but also in infrastructure management, where the interplay between cooling, networking, and design choices will determine a cloud provider’s competitive edge.
Managing Massive GPU Clusters
Deploying hundreds or even thousands of GPUs in a traditional data centre setting might appear straightforward in theory. Yet, as Batta highlighted, the real differentiation between cloud providers lies in their ability to manage these clusters. The reliability and scalability of GPU operations are paramount, and ensuring maximum uptime with minimal failures remains a significant operational hurdle.Cloud providers typically purchase standardized racks from manufacturers, but it is the bespoke data centre design that ensures efficient operation under extreme thermal loads. Efficient liquid cooling, as opposed to relying solely on conventional methods, could be the key to fully unlocking the potential of NVIDIA’s powerful GPU solutions.
A Collaborative Multi-Cloud Strategy
In today’s competitive cloud landscape, no provider operates in isolation. Oracle is actively forging infrastructure-level partnerships with other industry giants, including Google and Microsoft Azure, to deploy OCI within their data centres. These multi-cloud collaborations are more than mere alliances—they represent strategic moves to harness diversified customer bases and heterogeneous workloads.For example, Oracle is already working closely with Microsoft by integrating Oracle databases with a range of Microsoft’s services. At the same time, Google’s customer ecosystem and its strong AI model, Gemini, create additional avenues for collaboration. This multi-cloud approach not only improves service reliability but also accelerates AI adoption across different platforms.
Impact on Enterprises and the Windows Ecosystem
While the spotlight is on cloud data centres and cutting-edge infrastructure, the ripple effects of OCI’s advancements extend to a broader audience, including Windows users in the enterprise environment. Many businesses relying on Windows environments for desktop computing or server operations indirectly depend on cloud infrastructures that power modern applications, from enterprise software to data analytics and AI-driven services.Innovations in liquid cooling and GPU cluster management underscore the future of data centre design, ensuring that services remain robust, scalable, and energy-efficient. This is particularly important as businesses expect continuous uptime and increased computational power to support new applications, many of which run on Windows-based platforms.
Key Takeaways
• OCI’s integration of NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs signals a major upgrade in AI and cloud compute performance.• Liquid cooling is emerging as a necessary innovation—but one that demands a complete overhaul of traditional data centre designs.
• The real challenge lies in managing large-scale GPU clusters; advanced cooling mechanisms are essential to maintain uptime and performance reliability.
• Oracle is expanding its multi-cloud strategy by forging partnerships with Google, Microsoft Azure, and other key players, ensuring broad market reach and diversified deployment environments.
• These advancements not only enhance cloud infrastructure but also indirectly benefit Windows-based enterprise solutions, where reliable, high-performance computing is crucial.
Looking Forward
As demand for AI-driven solutions surges, the pressures on data centre infrastructure will only intensify. Oracle’s proactive approach to integrating advanced GPUs with innovative cooling technologies is a testament to the evolving nature of cloud computing. For Windows users and enterprise IT professionals alike, these developments highlight a future where cutting-edge hardware and thoughtful infrastructure design converge to power the next wave of digital transformation.In the coming months and years, success will hinge on how effectively data centres can evolve to manage the heat and complexity of advanced GPU clusters. This is not just a hardware upgrade—it’s a fundamental shift in the way we design, manage, and experience the digital backbone of modern computing.
Source: AIM ‘Most Data Centres Are Not Ready for Liquid Cooling’, says Oracle Exec on NVIDIA Blackwell
