Creating a Hyperscale Solution: Off-the-Shelf, Customized or Both?
March 25, 2021
Cloud services, social media markets, companies in e-commerce... all of these businesses have driven hyperscale operations to more formally take shape. That's primarily because they must meet the demand to support massive numbers of customers and customer data while also rapidly scaling their market footprint.
So, it's not surprising that the hyperscale segment has become a necessary category on all its own.
In order for hyperscalers to adapt their data centers and become agile, flexible and scalable, they've pretty much flipped the script on the typical supplier/customer relationship. Instead of buying an off-the-shelf, standard solution dictated by the product manufacturer, hyperscalers, to a large extent, have driven the creation of their own specifications. Because of their sizeable presence, manufacturers that support and serve these hyperscalers have followed suit.
The questions now, for manufacturers and hyperscalers alike are: how can product manufacturers still add value to spec-centric hyperscale data centers and integrators? Should we look to off-the-shelf, customized or a hybrid of the two when it comes to working with a manufacturer to create a solution?
Consider this:
- Typical hyperscale infrastructure designs, particularly racks, either come from standardized specs based around the Open Compute Project, or from highly customizeable designs that only a select-few manufacturers are able to accommodate in their routine engineering, design, prototyping and manufacturing processes and operations.
- Global footprint, massive scale and tight project timelines of hyperscale buildouts demand a manufacturer who can support rapid engineering, prototyping and customization capabilities
- Constant communication and scalable production flexibility is important when it comes to meeting demand and keep projects on schedule
- Delivery schedules, transportation challenges, packaging waste and other considerations that rack manufacturers can address are all critical in developing the optimal solution.
- An ideal middle ground is where one or both the manufacturer and hyperscale operator collaborate to create a total solution that not only meets specifications around equipment loading, cable management, power and cooling, but also addresses how it fits into the operator's overall data center ecosystem.
- Working with global manufacturers who have perfected their design-build operations (it's engrained in their DNA) means they are better suited to be adaptable to any critical last-minute changes.
Learn more about the considerations for selecting a rack manufacturer that can help hyperscalers reliably fast-track their deployments. Read the full article by Todd Schneider, CPI Director of Product Management and Hyperscale Business Development.
Posted by Brittany Mangan, Digital Content Specialist at 3/25/2021 12:47:02 PM