HP has expanded its scalable computing infrastructure with the release of a 20-foot performance optimised data centre (POD), designed for customers with limited space and budgets looking to expand their technical capacities.
“The POD is a container-based data centre,” says Andrew McNiven, product manager of the industry standard severs unit at HP Enterprise Business. “It contains a scalable, flexible and secure technology infrastructure that is mobile.” HP released its 40-foot solution last year, but since then there has been increased demand for a smaller POD solution, he says.
According to McNiven, the target market is not focused on small or large corporations, but rather a more niche market. “We have found the military environment finds the POD design useful, due to its portability and flexibility of operations and support,” he explains. “Telecommunications companies are also benefiting, due to the ability to deploy the container in remote areas.”
He adds that companies which need to scale out but have requirements that exceed the growth capacity of the server farm are also prime candidates. The POD provides a bolt-on architecture that allows companies to expand their data centre capacity.
According to McNiven, HP manages the entire process from conception, where the requirements of each POD are outlined through an analysis of the location and intended use.
“We predict a large Africa market, which is prime area for telecommunications and banking institutes,” says McNiven, adding there is also a large market for data centres being replicated to smaller data centres.
“The POD is still a relatively new concept, and its adoption will largely be decided by showcasing it to the right people, like the CFOs,” notes McNiven. “While the cost of the unit is initially rather high, the unit starts to recover its costs over a five-year period, when the power efficiencies come into place.
“Energy inefficiencies are also rife in today's market. With Eskom's proposed hike, companies need to look to new solutions that are power efficient to save money. We will see readjustment of budgets in IT divisions,” he concludes.
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