Modular data centers (MDC) originally conceived as a solution for local problems in remote areas where it is difficult or impossible to build a classic data center. However, it turned out later that this concept is gaining popularity as MDC is deployed in a shorter time, and its total cost of ownership tend to be lower than that of traditional platforms.
MarketsandMarkets, the market research company and consulting firm, forecasts the global Modular Data Center Market to grow from $6.52 billion in 2014 to $26.02 billion by 2019, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 31.9%. MarketsandMarkets categorized the MDC Market by types including containerized and individual module: IT, power, cooling and generator; by deployment size: midsize, enterprise and large data center; by regions including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America.
The report stated that traditional data centers lack in capacity planning and scalability; it is also coupled with high cost and higher construction. Modular solutions address these challenges in a cost effective and greener way. Although the sector is segmented into different types of modular data centers, increased awareness and adoption of this type of solution will drive the market expansion.
According to the research firm, one of the main economic benefits of modular data centers is the ability to predict, allocate time and manage costs to build a data center. The other major driving factors are deployment of modular data center, power savings, cooling efficiencies and optimizing IT equipment density.
North America and Europe set to be the biggest market in terms of revenue contribution, while Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America is expected to invest more on MDC model. The report says Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) will play a crucial role in data centers, while the way in which data centers are powered going to change altogether. In terms of challenges, MarketsandMarkets said that enterprises still need to work on bringing a data center from scratch to online within weeks, optimizing power usage effectiveness, ability to add new capacity as and when needed and reduction in organization’s capital and operational expenditure on setting up and running data center.
Major MDC vendors including Cisco, HP, IBM, Dell, Schneider, SGI and BladeRoom are working to provide massive systems under one management engine for better management of environment and workload.
Emerson Network Power in a recent report “Data Center 2025: Exploring the Possibilities” said that data centers will be driven by a mix of various renewable energy sources in the future. Solar energy will play a leading role. The share of solar energy to power data centers in 2025 is expected to be as large as the combined share of energy from nuclear power, natural gas and wind turbines.