What’s behind the sudden rise in popularity of prefabricated modular data centres?

What key advantages do they offer in order to maximise return on investment and ensure optimum functionality, what pitfalls should be avoided when designing and specifying them?

According to Michael Akinla, Business Manager, Panduit, EMEA, his first experience of a containerised prefabricated computing resource was as a disaster recovery (DR) solution, which had to be external to the building and highly secure, for obvious reasons.

The technology has moved on and so has the requirement for additional on-tap compute capacity. One could ask, in a hybrid IT model, isn’t this what cloud providers are for? However, many organisations are returning from cloud solutions after finding these didn’t fulfil their individual requirements.

The prefabricated data centre is an important addition to a company’s capabilities when planning its ITE requirement. There are multiple advantages to this system including technical and financial.

As an additional ITE suite, the containerised solution can be specified, ordered, and delivered ready for operation in far less time and with less administrative complexity than building an extra computer facility on site. Utilising prefabricated solutions also allows for future additional expansion which provides a highly effective upscaling capability.

Panduit partners with a European prefabricated data centre provider and they collaborate closely to deliver the whitespace infrastructure (cabinets, cable management, and connectivity systems) that seamlessly support the compute, storage, and networking equipment.  The latest flexible rack and cabinet systems ensure the specified compute capability is configured in the most efficient and effective layout.  High-Density fibre connectivity solutions allow up to 50% higher port density per RU and help manage patch cord density in the cable pathways. Infrastructure can be designed, pre-configured and preinstalled along with customers compute selection in off-site clean conditions to ensure maximum quality control. Additionally, factory-installed environmental monitoring systems can ensure the specified environment is maintained within the container.

On a global basis, an organisation that requires specific compute capabilities in remote and harsh environments can deliver identical prequalified ITE within guaranteed timeframes and costs, providing a lights-out, plugin and forget solution, dependent on situation requirements.

As with any technology solution, the key to its success is that the delivered prefabricated system completely corresponds to the design specification and matches the end-use requirement