Microsoft’s Generation 4 Data Center strategy

I was really pleased to read that Microsoft has been extremely open and up front about it’s not 1 not 2 not 3 but generation 4 data center strategy

The vision includes data centers without roofs and modular units for fast expansion. This has generated some interesting comments and debate in the industry:

· “Laying out the basic framework with just a few simple sketches, in one simple 3 minute video, one company moved the entire data center architecture conversation forward by 2-3 years.” (Groves Green IT Blog)

· “One of the most interesting elements of Microsoft’s design for its planned Generation 4 Modular Data Centers is the fact that the facilities will have no roofs. Microsoft’s Mike Manos predicted this feature would generate some debate in the industry, and he was right.” (Data Center Knowledge)

The Register summarised the vision with an article entitled “Microsoft picks up data center from the back of a lorry”

More info:
Microsoft’s Vision for Generation 4 Modular Data Centers
Gen 4 video 
Gen 4 blog post
TechNet Edge video