HP to Rent Out Custom Modular Data Centers

HP introduced a new way for customers to use the various modular data center products it offers.

Calling the product Facility-as-a-Service, the company offers custom-sized, scalable data center facilities under five-year rolling service agreements. The program includes HP’s Flexible DC and POD products, as well as custom modular options.

The idea is to shift the cost of data center infrastructure from being a capital expense to an operational one for the customer, while giving them more flexibility in the type and size of data center than they can get from a typical colocation provider.

The customer operates their data center, while HP maintains it and collects monthly maintenance payments.

Rick Einhorn, VP of technology services and data center consulting at HP, said each traditional data center sourcing strategy has its difficulties. “Now, with HP Facility-as-a-Service, a new option is available that enables an organization’s CFO to switch costs from a capital to an operating expense and provides the CIO with their own operated data center which has the flexibility to expand as the business grows.”

The product will compete with a number of colocation providers that offer modular and scalable data center products. Some of the most prominent examples include Phoenix, Ariz.-based IO, and Luxembourg-based Colt Technology Services.

What differentiates HP’s offering is the variety of the type of modules available. Both IO and Colt offer standardized modules, while HP has 20-foot and 40-foot PODs, as well as its Flexible DC offering, which scales in 500 kW, 750 kW, 900 kW and 1,500 kW increments, according to the company’s website.

Colt’s customers are also limited to the data center locations the company has in Europe. IO, on the other hand, offers its IO.Anywhere modules in either one of its own locations or in locations of the customer’s choice.