---
id: "question-latency-vs-shiftable-threshold"
type: "open-question"
source_timestamps: ["§ The Incumbent's Energy Playbook", "¶11", "¶14"]
tags: ["workload-management", "latency"]
related: ["concept-shiftable-vs-latency-sensitive", "action-redesign-compute-location"]
resolutionPath: "Conduct an internal audit of AI application SLAs to determine maximum acceptable latency for different user interactions, mapping those to geographic ping times."
sources: ["futures"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-futures"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-nm-101-energy-strategy-ai"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/your-company-needs-an-energy-strategy-for-ais-next-phase"
sourceTitle: "Your Company Needs an Energy Strategy for AI’s Next Phase"
---
# What is the exact threshold for latency-sensitive workloads?

## The Question
The authors recommend separating latency-sensitive workloads from shiftable ones ([[concept-shiftable-vs-latency-sensitive]]) to optimize cloud-region placement. But they **do not define the specific latency thresholds** (e.g., in milliseconds) that dictate when a workload truly must stay near users versus when it can be shifted to a cheaper, distant region.

## Why it's open
Without a concrete threshold, [[action-redesign-compute-location]] remains a judgment call rather than a rule.

## Resolution path
Conduct an internal audit of AI-application SLAs to determine the maximum acceptable latency for different user interactions, then map those to geographic ping times.