13 – lucky for data centres

While Minkels’ main business and industry-leading reputation is based on the configuration of racks and cabinets to order, the company has recently launched the Nexpand Standard Portfolio, a set of 54 pre-defined data centre infrastructure components which can be delivered to the customer within 13 working days + transport. The portfolio has been put together based on the most popular rack/cabinet configurations specified by the Minkels customer base, following extensive market research.

At a time when global supply chain issues are impacting data centre vendor service levels, the main driver behind the creation of the Nexpand Standard Portfolio is the need to help customers to be able to deploy data centres faster than is currently possible. Industry standard delivery times of configured cabinet and rack solutions varies between four to six weeks right now, so the new 13 day delivery option is a major innovation for Minkels.

Mario Contador, Europe Marketing Manager, R&C/PDU/KVM, Legrand Data Center Solutions, explains: “We used analytics to identify the most popular cabinets and racks we’re delivering and we also interviewed customers right across Europe to better understand their needs. Using this research, we put together an initial standard portfolio, somewhat larger than the final 54 items. We then went back to our customers with this template to check that it met their needs and, based on their feedback, arrived at the final portfolio.”

Mario continues: “The research process identified regional differences when it came to cabinet and rack specification, as well as the different value different organisations place on these critical data centre components. For example, some companies see a cabinet as little more than a metal box to house IT equipment. Others value the robust design, along with the construction of the doors, roof and side panels – for example, we have the best door on the market – we like to think of it as unbendable!

“The final Nexpand Standard Portfolio took account of the many different requirements of our customers to provide everything from 42U and 47U units for our SME customers up to the 52U cabinets required by the colocation companies, with options also pre-configured for both networking and server equipment, security locks, as well as for optimal airflow management. While the majority of cabinets are available in white, some configurations also meet the market demand for black.”

At the same time as it has created the new 54 product/13 day delivery solution, Minkels has also developed an accompanying accessories option. Customers can order some 100 different part numbers to arrive within the same timeframe as the Nexpand Standard Portfolio, allowing for fast customisation of cabinets. The accessory options include cable management items such as rings, trays and guides; side panels, end of row panels and sliding doors, PDU brackets and the like.

Additionally, other Legrand portfolio company items, such as PDUs, are available for the same delivery date as the cabinets.

The end result is what might be called a ‘semi-bespoke’ solution, delivered much faster than a fully bespoke option.

Minkels is confident that the Nexpand Standard Portfolio opens up new markets in the SME space, where ease and cost of installation are important factors. And the speed of delivery could well prove attractive not just to SMEs but also to the hyperscalers and colocation data centres as and when they need to source quality cabinets at short notice.

Mario concludes: “As data centre owners and operators adjust to the world of high energy prices, Net Zero objectives, and supply chain volatility, they are looking to work with their key supply partners to meet these challenges. The Minkels Nexpand data centre infrastructure platform has an unrivalled reputation for quality, reliability, continuous innovation and value for money; and the introduction of the Nexpand Standard Portfolio is just the latest example of how we are helping our customers on their digital transformation journeys.”