Vertiv’s Micro Data Centre solution for small edge computing now available across Africa

Vertiv (NYSE: VRT), a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, has announced the local availability in Africa of the Vertiv™ SmartCabinet™ 2, a self-contained micro data centre for edge computing applications, including banking and financial institutes, warehousing, education, government, and retail customers.

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The SmartCabinet™ 2 offers the features of a complete data centre in a compact and rapidly deployable package, meeting the requirements of smaller edge computing sites. The system includes an enclosed rack, a 3500W Vertiv™ Liebert® integrated cooling unit, plus a Vertiv™ Liebert^® uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and a power management unit, in a cabinet that is smaller in height, width and depth than other Vertiv™ SmartCabinet™ offerings.

“Over the past two years in particular, there has been a significant increase in remote and hybrid work, as well as growing demand for various IT applications in Africa. At the same time, we are increasingly seeing requirements for data centres to be flexible, standardised, and resilient. The compact, yet powerful, Vertiv SmartCabinet 2 micro data centre is an ideal solution for edge spaces, allowing businesses across the continent to expand their IT compute – and meet changing needs – easily and efficiently,” said Wojtek Piorko, Vertiv’s managing director for Africa.

“A number of our African customers said they loved the Vertiv™ SmartCabinet™ product, and would be interested in a smaller option. And, thanks to our global engineering team, that’s exactly what we are now able to deliver,” said Amitesh Kumar, integrated rack business manager at Vertiv. “We’re focusing on supporting a new, more efficient deployment of micro data centres.”

Piorko added that drivers for the smaller solution include today’s trends towards increased virtualisation and cloud use, which have limited the requirement for on-premises IT infrastructure, along with an increased need for lower IT energy consumption, of particular importance in Africa.

In addition, scrutiny over data sovereignty – where data is subject to the laws and governance structures of where it’s collected – and compliance requirements have resulted in greater demand for similar infrastructure in factories, retail outlets, and educational institutes, also.

The Vertiv™ SmartCabinet™ 2 can be equipped with enhanced security feature options, including video surveillance. The LED lighting around the system can be customised to suit customer branding, given in many cases it will be in sight of staff and end users.