What's Driving Modular Data Center Growth?

It’s that time of year when the 2023 research, market data and trends are published, providing hope and guidance. One area that continues to grow at an accelerating speed is anything data related. Think about it; we use technology for just about everything, which produces vast amounts of data that requires processing, security and analysis.

The latest global modular data center market size forecasts point to sustained and continued growth through 2030 – Marketsandmarkets.com states the modular data center market was estimated at USD 23 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 88.5 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 18.4% during the forecast period (2022-2030).

What’s driving growth? According to a recent report by marketresearch.com, the evolution and innovation of data center design and deployment and an increase in the adoption of Edge, Big Data, and IoT.

Other factors driving modular data center growth include:

• Rapid Deployment: Modular construction allows for faster data center deployment compared with traditional construction methods, which can take up to two years. Modular components can be manufactured and assembled off-site, transported and installed on-site.
• Scalability: Data centers often require additional capacity on demand, and modular construction makes this possible by allowing for the easy addition of new modules. The ability to add capacity — whether it be data center computing or additional mechanical support structures – reduces the risk of overbuilding and disruption.
• Energy Efficiency: Modular data centers are often designed with energy efficiency in mind, utilizing technologies such as containerized solutions, which provide improved cooling and power density.
• Flexibility: Modular data centers can be easily reconfigured and relocated, making them a flexible solution for changing business needs. It is also an ideal alternative for remote locations where an on-site building could prove difficult or expensive. Lastly, modular projects can be installed anywhere – on a roof, parking lot or adjacent to existing structures.
• Quality Control: The manufacturing process of modular components is often more controlled and efficient than traditional construction methods, leading to higher quality data centers.

Industries embracing modular data center construction:

• Information Technology (IT) companies are significant users, leveraging the technology to build scalable, efficient and cost-effective data center solutions.
• Telecommunications companies use modular PODs (performance optimized data centers) to build network infrastructure, especially 5G, to provide fast and flexible solutions for network expansion and upgrade projects.
• Financial Services, such as banking, investing and insurance companies, use modular data centers to build secure, reliable and scalable data center solutions for their operations, including electronic banking, paperless storage and virtualization.
• Healthcare and pharmaceutical companies use efficient and cost-effective modular solutions for data storage and processing of sensitive patient information.
• The oil and gas sector relies on modular High-Performance Computing for remote operations, including drilling and production data management, equipment and sensor monitoring and processing of energy data and analytics.

Advantages and benefits of deploying modular data centers:

• Reduced time and labor cost to build, compared with the traditional data center deployment.
• The systems and the infrastructures installed in the modular data center are pre-engineered and tightly fit, offering high efficiency.
• Agility offered by the modular data centers helps to save costs.
• The flexible assembly of power, cooling and racks benefit data center operators.

Learn more about our capabilities, and catch TDIndustries’ Vice President, Modular Systems Ron Mann at World of Modular in March.