Building brick-and-mortar data centres can be a time-consuming endeavour, and it is often particularly challenging in isolated areas with limited technical skills to implement the build on the ground.
Where building with brick-and-mortar is a challenge, prefabricated, modular data centres are the ideal solution for fast-growing organisations that need to expand their data centre capacity quickly, or organisations that want the option to relocate their data centre over time.
This is according to ISF Construction and ISF ICT Infrastructure, divisions of the ISF Group – a diversified, integrated engineering, procurement, construction and management (EPCM) company.
They note that as demand for data centres grows, data centre infrastructure is not a one-size-fits-all proposition: the infrastructure must suit the organisation’s strategy, budget and use case. For some, brick-and-mortar is the most viable solution, whereas for others, Integrated Modular Solutions (IMS) for data centre construction offers greater efficiency and time-saving compared to traditional methods.
Robert Randall, General Manager: Data Centre Infrastructure at ISF ICT Infrastructure, says ISF partners with Vertiv to offer IMS solutions that significantly reduce the time taken to install and commission a data centre.
“Global demand for these prefabricated units has picked up so much that the manufacturer in Croatia has had to triple its capacity. Because the modular unit is shipped fully fitted, it’s faster than building with brick-and-mortar. Theoretically, they're supposed to be able to sign off a design and within six months, you can switch it on site. And because the manufacturers specialise in modular data centres, they have optimised the designs for smaller, more eco-friendly footprints.”
Ahmed Kathrada, MD of ISF Construction, notes: “When the customer wants it at the lowest cost and doesn’t have time pressures, brick-and-mortar is an appropriate solution. But when time is of the essence, IMS can be deployed in less than half the time. With a traditional brick-and-mortar building, you have to get the necessary permissions, then start building, then only start doing the work on the actual data centre. With IMS, you can actually start building the data centre in a factory, at the same time as the time-consuming approvals and site works happen.”
Built to ISO 9001 standards, Vertiv IMS solutions can reduce deployment times by up to 50% and can save up to 25% on floor space, they state.
IMS units can be joined or stacked, and can also be relocated - for example when an organisation rents offices and wants to move.
Randall says the flexibility is one of the key selling points of modular data centre units: “You could describe it as ‘pay as you grow’. You could start with just three or four modules with the aim of growing to 12 in future. Unlike with brick-and-mortar, there is no dust to worry about when extending the facility.
"What we would typically do is build the modular unit sides to be removable, so once the extension has been added, you simply remove the internal wall. This means the environment remains weatherproof and dust-free and the data centre can continue to operate while you’re extending it. They can also be stacked, and customers have even built triple-storey data centres, and facilities as large as 11 000 square metres using the modular system.”
Randall says IMS units are proving invaluable for edge data centres where a customer requires consistency across its data centres in multiple locations, as well as in areas where specialised data centre skills are in short supply. “They are in use in sectors like mining, and oil and gas, where the organisation may want portability. The smaller units have also been built onto trucks for radar stations or for use in disaster recovery,” he says.
Kathrada also highlights IMS also offers advantages such as fixed pricing in construction, which reduces risks and enhances safety through standardised manufacturing processes. “Before it leaves the factory, every piece of cable and every piece of pipe has already been installed. In terms of the budget, although it sounds like IMS costs more, it all comes at a fixed price whereas traditional brick-and-mortar buildings can be delayed and may come with costs for unknowns. There's a huge reduction in risks for the client in that sense,” he says. “It also improves safety: instead of having hundreds of people on site to put this together in a remote location, the unit is manufactured in a factory where the processes are standardised and the safety is exceptionally well planned so there’s no risk and no compromise on quality.”
Randall adds that factory acceptance testing allows clients to request changes before shipping, ensuring the units meet their requirements and comply with local standards. “When you purpose build it, you can achieve higher rack density and you can do a lot of space saving by doing things in a smarter way. In many brick-and-mortar sites, the data centre has grown and the building wasn't designed for what they need to use it for. If the data centre is a modular building purpose-designed specifically for the site, you can specify a four-metre height to get taller revenue generating racks in the same space, or a service corridor to the cooling units, for example.”
They note that modular buildings also support environmental strategies, by using smart design and a smaller footprint to reduce energy consumption.
Kathrada adds: “Because much of the infrastructure is made of steel, and you can specify recyclable materials for the cladding, the IMS units can be greener than traditional brick-and-mortar.”
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