MGE, Costa Mesa, Calif., recently brought together a group of electrical and environmental conditioning manufacturers to work on reducing the problems involved in building a data center.
The Facility Solutions Alliance (FSA) wants to eliminate the task of coordinating multiple suppliers, consultants, technical specifications drawings, installations, and accounting paperwork.
In addition to using MGE's 3-phase uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs), power distribution units, and power management modules, owners can select products from the participating manufacturers, which include Square D, EFI Electronics, Cummins Onan, Albercorp, and Stulz North America.
By presenting customers with an integrated lineup of equipment for data centers or other high-tech installations, FSA hopes to ensure the switchgear, gen-sets, and UPS gear are well coordinated and the various communications software programs communicate with one another.
Once the system needs are identified, the equipment is specified and procured on a single order to ensure timely delivery. This single point of contact streamlines the ordering process, provides competitive pricing, and speeds delivery, according to David Derambakhsh, MGE's director for the FSA project.
He says the effort is a result of customers asking the manufacturers “What else can you offer me?”