FOCUS on MODULARITY


MODULARITY IN THE DATA CENTER


Scaling out big


The interior of Colt’s 5,000 sq ft modular, pre-manufactured data center


A number of large data centers are adopting the modular ethos. Dr Gareth Evans takes a look at the tempting world of modularity


Flexible, scalable and sustainable – those are the key attributes of modular solutions in a nutshell, according to Paul Anderson, program director for Capgemini’s new Merlin data center in the UK. They account for the significant inroads the approach has made into data center operations in 2010, and he believes they will see it continue to emerge as a potent force in future.


With today’s data center design decisions increasingly focused on matching maximized efficiencies to the needs of the moment, while simultaneously leaving things open for future expansion, and with cutting costs high on everyone’s agenda, it seems that modularity is pushing on an open door.


A recent IBM study concluded that over 20 years, the average data center will cost five times more to run than to build. Going modular to meet immediate needs, and then growing, obviously saves on up-front capital costs, but it also defers energy bills for running extra components until they actually become required. As IBM services offering executive Brian Canney explains: “The biggest impact that modularity has had on the data center market in 2010 is the ability to design and build-out a data center in a very flexible way. The client no longer needs to invest large amounts in a project that may take many years to grow into, if they ever do.”


UK data center services provider Colt recently rolled out its own approach to pre- manufactured data centers, offering them for customers in house and out as part of its modular data center offering. So it is no surprise that Akber Jaffer, general manager


of Colt Datacenter Services, agrees with Canney’s view. “The total cost of ownership of a data center is dramatically reduced,” Jaffer says. “Apart from dramatically reduced power requirements, refreshing – typically after 7-10 years – to upgrade power and cooling is easy, since the smaller modules are simply plug and play.”


TIME IS MONEY It is a tired old business cliché, but time really is money, and modularity – according to its supporters – can save both.


“The reduction in deployment time from typically 12-24 months to now under four months is a real killer application for modularity,” Jaffer says. “Not only does it save time in the overall planning cycle (and money in terms of cost of capital tied up), it also saves a lot of on-site trouble. Typically, a modular build can be installed with


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