The cost of building a traditional data center is high but now there is a cost-effective solution: micro data center. A micro data center (MDC) or mini data center is a smaller version of a modular data center that integrated traditional data center infrastructure including in-rack, cooling, UPS, PDU, monitoring and other subsystems in a single 19-inch rack or multi-racks. It features portable, rapid deployment, high efficiency as well as cost-effective, making it fit for branch office and dense city centers, especially for edge-computing and edge-analytics.

According to a report, Micro data centers can yield a cost reduction of 50 percent over a traditional data center under ideal circumstances because by deploying a modular data center, you can benefit cost savings in both construction and operations, ultimately minimizing the total cost of ownership (TCO).

Construction cost saving

Time-saving, labor cost saving

Micro modular data centers abandon the traditional idea of room construction and all components are prefabricated in the factory and ship to the place where you need it. It is a portable infrastructure designed for easy installation as well as rapid deployment, By this way, it reduces the need for skilled electricians and engineers on-site, therefore saving the labor cost but also save the construction time. 

real estate costs saving

Less floor space means less rent, especially in the city center with high rents. Because of their small footprint, micro data center can be placed anywhere, such as a parking lot, or your office so that you can save a lot of real estate costs.

Reduce waste

Choosing a micro data center also means to reduce waste. For example, you can expand equipment as needed without having to configure too much at the beginning. 

Operation cost saving

Cooling cost saving

In the traditional data centers, 30 and 55 percent of a data center's energy consumption goes into powering its cooling and ventilation systems. However, inside a micro data center, the cabinet is sealed so that the cold air can only flow in the rack to reduce cooling energy losses. This "in-row" cooling method improves cooling performance because the cold air is guided directly to the hot points.

Energy-saving and electricity bills saving

Besides the cooling cost-saving, the research found that the greater density and more efficient use of space means that modular facilities are able to achieve significantly better power usage effectiveness (PUE) compared to traditional datacentres in many cases, according to DCD Intelligence. The scale of data center PUE ranges from 3.0 which is very inefficient to 1.2 which is very efficient. Kstar IDU micro data center, for example, can lower the PUE to 1.3. A lower PUE rating means a more efficient data center, which in turn means lower operating costs for both the owner/operator and customer.

O&M cost saving

Last but not least, a plug and play, highly standardized designed micro data center is easy to scale and maintain. You can replace the failed part of the component in one minute without calling IT experts.

If you are planning to build a green data center for your business or finding a cost-effective data center solution for the edge, micro data center may be your ideal choice.