Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, has launched the Vertiv SmartCabinet 2M, a self-contained micro data centre designed for edge computing applications.

According to the company, the product was born largely out of demand from warehousing, education, government and retail customers who were looking for smaller, more eco-friendly micro data centres.

Vertiv SmartCabinet 2M is available now across Asia, including Australia and New Zealand. The SmartCabinet 2M leverages Vertiv’s original SmartCabinet strategy of providing a complete data centre in a compact package, but with less capacity, shorter rack and less depth, meeting the requirements of smaller edge sites.

The enclosed system has a locking door, 1500W of cooling and 17U of usable IT space. It also includes the Vertiv Liebert GXT5 uninterruptible power supply system (UPS) and a power management unit.

Andy Liu, Director for Integrated Rack Solutions at Vertiv Southeast Asia and Australia, New Zealand, says, “Over the past two years, we’ve seen accelerated growth at the edge, owing to remote or hybrid work and the changing demand for various IT applications.

"Today, flexibility and standardisation of data centres have become critical, as well as the need for robust resiliency. The smaller yet powerful SmartCabinet 2M can fit into even the most unconventional of edge spaces owing to its small footprint, allowing organisations to easily expand their IT compute when and where needed.”

Faraz Ali, IT Channel Market Business Manager at Vertiv, says, “A number of our ANZ customers essentially said, "We love the Vertiv SmartCabinet product, but we don’t have a lot of equipment. Can you give us something smaller?" So we did. It was incredible to see that demand spark our global engineering team to get behind the idea and create a new, even more efficient generation of micro data centres.”

Ali says the dual trends of increased virtualisation and cloud use, which limit the need for on-premises IT infrastructure, and the ability to reduce IT energy consumption were major drivers. However, scrutiny over data sovereignty - data being subject to the laws and governance structures of where it’s collected - and compliance generated strong demand for this type of infrastructure in factories, retail outlets, schools and more.

He says, “Most organisations don’t really need full-sized computer rooms anymore, but they can’t put a lot of their sensitive data in the cloud. The SmartCabinet 2M slots perfectly into that sweet spot in the middle, and this new model slots in even more easily by maximising space, functionality, and power usage as companies deal with rising energy costs.”

The SmartCabinet 2M comes equipped with enhanced security feature options including video surveillance. Companies can also adjust the LED lighting around the data centre to suit their own branding, given in many cases it will be in sight of staff and customers. Vertiv will begin a roadshow today with the SmartCabinet 2M alongside the company’s IT distributor, Ingram Micro, showcasing its benefits to partners and end-user customers across ANZ.

Amanda O’Brien, Data Centre Sales Manager at Ingram Micro, says, “Our partner base is meeting the needs of an array of customers, where many require technologies that facilitate, secure and accelerate edge computing. Whether it is data sovereignty or local processing to reduce latency and improve performance, edge computing is increasing in demand.

"The micro data centre is pivotal to ensure this requirement is met in a simple, cost effective and secure manner. Vertiv’s SmartCabinet 2M hits the mark for our local organisations, who are focused on sustainability and data protection.”

The new SmartCabinet 2M is an addition to the wide range of SmartCabinet variants that fit according to customers’ requirements. These include the Vertiv SmartCabinet Premium, the Vertiv SmartCabinet ECO, and the Vertiv SmartCabinet 2 Split.