I would classify micro data centers as two or less IT racks, where a massive amount of computing power or storage can be managed. Today, we have micro data centers as small as 6U that can hang on a wall or even be put in a ceiling! I see micro data centers as a critical extension of cloud data center architectures to reduce latency and add redundancy in a hybrid cloud environment. These micro data centers are a key building block. However, because they are spread out all over the place, they do present challenges in the form of troubleshooting, maintenance, and repair. Also, energy usage becomes a critical operating expense at scale. For example, let’s say you have 2,000 sites and 10 KW per site – that’s 20MW of power! That equates to roughly $20 million in electric bills a year (operating at average efficiency). This is why the efficiency of micro data centers is top of mind for a lot of companies.
