Schneider Electric announces availability of prefabricated data centres

Schneider Electric, a specialist in energy management, sets a new standard in prefabricated data centres with the introduction of 14 prefabricated data centre modules and 12 new prefabricated Data Centre Reference Designs. The reference designs detail complete data centres scalable in 250kW to 2MW increments and meet Uptime Tier II and Tier III standards. The new prefabricated modules deliver IT, power, and/ or cooling integrated with best-in-class data centre infrastructure components and StruxureWare for data centres data centre infrastructure management (DCIM) software for an easy-to-deploy, predictable data centre. Prefabricated modules range in capacities from 90kW to 500kW and are customizable to meet end user requirements.

“Today’s business environment demands data centres that are increasingly more flexible and scalable with an emphasis on deployment speed,” said Kevin Brown, vice president, Data Center Global Offer and Strategy, Schneider Electric. “Prefabricated data centres enable data centre managers to maximize the speed of business through rapid installation, easy expansion and improved cash management. This prefabricated approach inherently increases the predictability of the build process, since most of the construction occurs in a factory instead of in the field.”

As flexible capacity becomes critical to data centre operations, modular expansion is becoming a compelling option for data centre and facilities managers. With Schneider Electric’s announcement of the industry’s first complete library of prefabricated data centre reference designs, data centre managers looking to optimize deployment speed, performance, reliability and cost have a pre-engineered starting point to realize significant improvements in:

• Speed of deployment – Prefabricated modules are delivered on-site preconfigured and pretested for an easy installation with a lead time of 12-16 weeks, depending on the level of project complexity. Site preparation and module production can be completed concurrently, resulting in minimized on-site construction and deployment time.

• Flexibility and scalability – Various module options and configurations enable the infrastructure to be deployed and scaled as needed to meet demand. Capital spending reductions result from eliminating complicated new construction or expensive building retrofits

• Predictability – Prefabrication and factory testing reduces human error and on-site construction risks while improving compliance, safety, and efficiency. Design and manufacturing are closely coupled to greatly minimise uncertainty, which results in more predictable performance of the data centre infrastructure.