Partnership leads to innovative data centre

An Australian data centre innovation is set to generate AU$150 million over five years in export revenue and 30 local jobs.

Australian data centre engineering specialist Datapod, in partnership with global company APC by Schneider Electric, have launched the Datapod solution, a containerised data centre system that is locally designed, developed and manufactured.

Led by APC and Datapod, the Datapod project also involves a number of Australian companies in key design, manufacturing and testing activities.

The Hon Richard Marles MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and Industry launched the Datapod officially by cutting the ribbon.

Marles said, “The Datapod system has been engineered for optimum efficiency with the aim of reducing the electricity consumption of the data centre by up to 50%. This new system is an example of data centre technology that is both practical and green.

“It is highly mobile and adaptable technology that can be deployed at short notice, such as to a disaster area like the recent bushfires in Victoria. It will also meet the needs of businesses requiring cost-effective data centre infrastructure. This is the type of innovation that the Australian government is committed to supporting.”

“In today’s enterprise IT landscape, organisations need to be able to adapt rapidly to changing business needs,” said Scott Carr, Datapod Managing Director.

“Bricks and mortar data centre projects are slow to evolve and costly to install and expand. Our Datapod system of preconfigured, modular data centre building blocks is specifically designed to overcome the challenges posed by traditional data centres.”

Unlike other containerised solutions on the market, Datapod has extended the concept to include critical site infrastructure such as modular generators and chillers to deliver a complete containerised infrastructure solution for data centres. The core of the Datapod system comprises APC’s InfraStruXure data centre architecture and APC’s energy-efficient Hot Aisle Containment System and InRow Cooling solutions.

“APC is proud to be supporting Australian innovation with Datapod Australia. We are excited to be delivering this breakthrough data centre technology as part of our plans to support government and industry investment in Australian infrastructure projects,” said Gordon Makryllos, APC Vice President, Pacific.

Merri Mack