DCK Guide To Modular Data Centers: The Modular Market

In the third part to our series on Modular Data Centers we move beyond the definition of modular as an approach and why modular data centers make sense and explore the market for modular products and providers.

The Modular Market

While the modular market is still fairly young, there has been some tremendous innovation and engineering design efforts put into solutions.  As engineered solutions continue to grow the adoption from businesses of all sizes continue to grow as well.

Many of the major server vendors have modular data center products and while they are optimized to work with their hardware, will typically support anything a standard rack supports. Vendors worldwide have engineered their own version of a container or module and incorporated a variety of unique capabilities into their solution. Having one vendor supply all components for and within the rack for a module enables them to engineer it as a complete solution that can then have modular power and cooling products complement the IT module.  Modular data center products, including containers, are available from: IO, HP, IBM, SGI, Dell, Cisco, Cirrascale, Bull, AST, Schneider Electric, PDI (acquired by Smiths Interconnect), Emerson Network Power, Silver Linings, and Telenetix.

Within the everything-as-a-Service model, a modular provider is able to offer the entire data center as a service, by quickly adding a module of IT with all supporting power and cooling infrastructure. The entire module is available as a package, integrating all aspects of the IT within and subsystems through DCIM or other management tools. Modular data center Providers include: IO, NxGen Modular, COLT, Cannon, Pacific Voice and Data, BladeRoom, Pelio & Associates, Dock IT, Lee Technologies (acquired by Schneider Electric), Datapod and Turbine Air Systems (TAS)/Celestica (CLS).

The entire Guide to Modular Data Centers white paper can be downloaded here, courtesy of IO.

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