APC, IBM Team on Modular Data Center

American Power Conversion (APCC) and IBM have jointly developed the Scalable Modular Data Center, a pre-engineered 500 or 1,000 square foot data center that can be rapidly deployed. The new offering, similar in concept to Sun Microsystems' Project BlackBox, enables users to build a data center in nearly any working environment using IBM Global Services' capabilities and APC's InfraStruXure data center architecture.

"Organizations of all sizes are currently experiencing significant challenges as a result of energy-related expenses within their data centers," said Rob Johnson, APC's president and chief executive officer. "The strategic relationship between IBM and APC will produce a reliable, scalable modular data center that will provide power, cooling, racks, security and management capabilities that directly address those energy challenges. From our experience in marketing products to small- and medium-sized businesses, we designed this solution to specifically meet the customer's need for flexible infrastructure that can install in virtually any environment and still support the cost-effective addition of components as a business grows."

APC had previously rolled out a mobile Data Center on Demand several years ago. It will be the exclusive technology partner for IBM Scalable Modular Data Center, which was first announced by IBM in October. The data centers will include pre-configured APC InfraStruXure solutions, including perimeter or InRow cooling (depending on the density level of the solution) and NetBotz physical threat monitoring, for data centers in the range of 500 to 1,000 square feet. APC's InfraStruXure line includes standardized compnents to build modular solutions that integrate power, cooling, racks, management and security. This allows the architecture to scale to meet the changing needs of growing businesses.