The Hardware Behind the AI Buildout

The Hardware Behind the AI BuildoutHosted by ReuseTechBC and Vancouver Tech Journal

AI ambitions are running into a physical reality. Every model deployment and copilot rollout raises a hardware question: what to buy, keep, or retire, and what it really costs. For the first time in years, hardware strategy is back on the CIO’s agenda.

We’ll cover:

Refresh cycles: Do AI workloads justify faster refreshes, or are we retiring hardware too early?

The real cost of AI capacity: On-prem, cloud, or hybrid, and where the hidden costs are.

Managing fleets at scale: Tracking and planning across thousands of devices as needs shift.

The lifecycle question: How reuse, redeployment, and responsible disposition protect budgets and sustainability goals.

Procurement meets sustainability: What a circular approach to IT looks like in practice.

The discussion will be followed by dinner, drinks and networking!

Who should attend: CIOs, IT and infrastructure leaders, IT asset managers, and procurement and sustainability teams. If you budget for, manage, or retire your organization’s hardware, this conversation is for you.

SPEAKERS

Sandeep Sidhu: Chief Information Officer, Emily Carr University

Amrit Brar: Director, Technology Business Management Office, TransLink

Christopher Chong: Founder, Skeena Data Centers Corporation

Mary-Em Waddington: Executive Director, BC Technology for Learning Society / ReuseTechBC