Vertiv Unveils Solution for Edge Computing in Africa

Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, has unveiled the Vertiv SmartCabinet2 in Africa. This self-contained micro data centre offers a comprehensive solution for a diverse range of edge computing applications, including banking and financial institutions, warehousing, education, and government and retail sectors. The SmartCabinet2 packs the features of a complete data centre into a compact and rapidly deployable package, catering to the needs of smaller edge computing sites.

The system comprises an enclosed rack, an integrated 3500W Vertiv Liebert cooling unit, a Vertiv Liebert uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and a power management unit. This micro data centre boasts a smaller footprint compared to 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.

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.

Amitesh Kumar, integrated rack business manager at Vertiv, emphasized the company’s commitment to meeting customer needs, as the smaller SmartCabinet 2 was developed in response to feedback from African clients. “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. “We’re focusing on supporting a new, more efficient deployment of micro data centres.”

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.
SmartCabinet 2 is the latest addition to Vertiv’s broad range of integrated data centre solutions