The self-proclaimed inventor of the software-defined data center (SDDC) is about to challenge another pillar of the data center establishment - the power management vendors.

Arizona-based data center operator IO is planning a number of ground breaking initiatives, according to VP of marketing communications Jason Ferrara.

In the Q1 2015 it will open a customer built data center in Slough with investment bank Goldman Sachs as its anchor client.

It is also helping the bank to expand its data center footprint in Asia Pacific, with a data center presence in Singapore.

It has recently completed an outdoor modular data center with a major research institute in the US (which cannot be named).

However, the biggest impact, according to Ferrara, will be made by a new invention, modular grid installation AKA street power, that could change the power dynamic in the data center industry.

“We are close to a grid modular deployment that will by pass the need for UPSs and generators and plug directly into the grid,” said Ferrara.

By obviating the need for power management systems, such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and generators, IO said it can achieve far better power use effectiveness (PUE) and consume much less electricity.

The potential demand for ‘Street Power’ (as IO has dubbed it) could change the cost dynamic of the data center industry, according to IO.

“There is a substantial subset of customers that want street power,” said Ferrara.

“They are quite comfortable with the reliability they get form the grid.”

Customers such as Bitcoin miners, research institutes, big data investigators and data modelers are finding that, when forced to cost justify maximum uptime, they can happily tolerate downtime, said Ferrara.

These are systems that can run when power is available.

Many company applications are over protected too, he said.

“Everyone thinks their equipment is the most important in the world,” said Ferrara.

Now, however, many customers are questioning the levels of resilience that vendors have insisted they need for decades, he said.

Ultimately, the street power trend could save center operators ‘significant’ amounts of money on their bills, said Ferrara. It could change the business model for many utilities too, he claimed.

“Utilities could do much more to monetize their infrastructure and get new revenue streams,” said Ferrara.

“That would lead to cheaper deals being offered to the data center customers”.