Why the AI Action Plan Is a Wake-Up Call for Data Center Compliance

Have you read the recently released America’s AI Action Plan yet? If so, you know that it’s full of ambitious goals to strengthen the country’s leadership in artificial intelligence. For me, one part in particular stood out immediately, the White House issued a clear call to action to the data center industry. 

Yes, the AI Action Plan sets a clear national directive: accelerate data center development to support AI workloads, especially those tied to national priorities. Accomplishing this will require fast-tracking permitting, upgrading energy infrastructure, and aligning with emerging standards from the Department of Defense, NIST, and other regulatory bodies. 

Proving that existing and future facilities which will need to be built to support these national needs are secure, resilient, and compliant will be key, as that assurance is what customers and agencies will require before entrusting them with sensitive AI models and data. As demand grows for compute environments that support AI at scale, so too will the need for third-party validation.  

That’s where SOC reporting comes in. 

Why is SOC Reporting Important for Data Centers? 

SOC 2 and SOC for Cybersecurity have become the leading frameworks for demonstrating security maturity across data center operations. Notably, these reports help address the critical questions that end users need validated, including: 

• Are your access controls tested? 
• Is your network architecture resilient? 
• Can your teams respond to incidents, recover quickly, and maintain business continuity? 

For regulators, cloud customers, and government buyers, SOC reports are not just documentation—they serve as actual proof. 

How Schellman Can Help You Prepare for Secure AI Scaling 

At Schellman, we can help you prove your infrastructure is secure. We’re already working with 7 of the top 10 data center operators in the U.S., and we don’t just assess their facilities—we understand how they operate. We can leverage our deep experience in evaluating physical and logical controls across power, HVAC, access, connectivity, and more to help you, too.

Here are the different ways in which Schellman can support compliance for data centers across the country: 

• SOC 2 and SOC for Cybersecurity reporting 
  We perform assessments that validate your security posture and operational controls, which are essential for gaining trust in an AI infrastructure world. 

• Readiness assessments and gap analysis 
  We help identify what’s working, what’s missing, and how to build a roadmap to meet the bar before you start the process of a formal audit. 

• Control testing and verification 
  We assess everything from physical access logs to firewall configurations to patching processes to ensure your controls work as designed. 

• Third-party vendor assurance 
  We help you evaluate risk and demonstrate oversight in your environment, whether you host other cloud providers or rely on critical vendors instead. 

• Resilience and availability assessments 
  We help validate that your operational resilience plan is not just written, but tested, tracked, and effective.  

Achieving a More Secure AI Future – For Data Centers and Beyond 

As the country continues to scale secure AI infrastructure, data centers are being asked to do their part. They’re no longer just part of the tech stack—data centers are becoming the foundation of America’s AI future. With that role comes more responsibility, more visibility, and yes, more scrutiny. 

To thrive, operators will need to do more, build more compute power, establish more resilience, and most importantly, create more trust. America’s AI Plan isn’t just a call to action; it’s an opportunity all data centers can now seize. 

Here at Schellman, we’ve proven we know how to help organizations navigate evolving security and compliance expectations like the ones recently set out by the White House. We’re ready to help you step up and lead with transparency and security so that you can differentiate your business in a crowded space and meet this moment with confidence. Contact us today to learn more. 

In the meantime, discover helpful SOC reporting insights in these additional resources:  

• SOC 1 vs. SOC 2: Which SOC Report Do Data Centers Need? 
• SOC for Cybersecurity and How it Can Help You 
• SOC for Cybersecurity 
• How to Incorporate AI Controls into Your SOC 2 Examination