• Hitachi Systems and HPE are offering a container data-centre package that Hitachi Systems says can be delivered in as little as six months
  • The estimate applies to specified air-cooled GPU configurations and can change with site conditions, electrical work and customer requirements

The fact

Hitachi Systems and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have expanded their partnership to offer container data centres for AI customers in Japan. Announced on 14 September, the service combines container infrastructure and supporting equipment with HPE servers. Hitachi Systems will coordinate the participating suppliers and support customers deploying AI workloads.

Hitachi Systems says a standard installation can take as little as six months, compared with about a year previously. The estimate applies to a specified air-cooled GPU configuration using the companies' standard design. The company says delivery time can vary depending on the equipment selected, the installation environment, electrical infrastructure and required applications.

HPE Financial Services is also offering financing for qualifying equipment. Options include leasing and a programme that can defer the start of lease payments by up to 180 days, subject to approval.

The assessment

Much of the time saving comes from settling the design before each customer order. The container, servers and supporting equipment are packaged together, so buyers do not have to coordinate every component and supplier separately. The six-month timetable becomes harder to maintain when the standard design no longer fits. Different cooling, changes to the server layout or additional electrical work can add engineering and approval steps. A container can also be ready before the site has enough power or other infrastructure to operate it.

For BTW readers, the offer is most useful to customers that already have a suitable site and can stay close to the standard configuration. Early deployments should show whether the six-month estimate translates into faster access to usable computing capacity, rather than simply faster delivery of the container itself.

What to watch

Watch for the first completed customer deployments and where the six-month timetable begins. Details on site preparation, electrical work, configuration changes and commissioning will show how much of the project is covered by the standard package and how easily the delivery model can be repeated.