Since its formation in 2006, CRS has gained the insight, skills and experience to make it an industry leader in the design, development and commissioning of data centre infrastructure.

Companies in the rapidly expanding data centre sector often require increased storage capacity at short notice, with operators expecting a high level of responsiveness from vendors and contractors. One Australian company that has thrived on successfully meeting this demand is Computer Room Solutions (CRS).

The growing demand for effective and efficient data centre storage systems has been the impetus for CRS to increase specialist and technical staff to double the size of its sales and design teams. The company has also moved into a new, purpose built head office facility where it can offer its customers tailored solutions with fast turnaround times. According to Brendan Dessent, managing director of CRS, the business model for the company utilises surplus capacity resourcing, which enables his company to respond rapidly to extremely short fulfilment cycles.

The robust, contemporary range of CRS racks and cabinets are designed and made in Australia to local and international manufacturing standards. The racks and cabinets are compatible with all standard 19-inch servers, UPS units, data storage, back-up devices, environmental and cable management systems.

Most data centres are developed within a building that has already been constructed, or after all the plans have been finalised. CRS works with facilities management staff, builders and contractors to fit the datacentre design around existing mechanical, electrical and other services within the structure.

CRS provides computer-rendered models of all proposed solutions to customers in a variety of formats, including the latest 3D PDFs. “We want to ensure that every client knows exactly what they are getting so there are no surprises or oversights,” Brendan says.

These detailed models allow the customer to see exactly how their datacentre will fit within the “as built” environment.

Each CRS rack or cabinet can be customised with a range of compatible accessories and options to produce individual solutions for each project, or custom designed to suit the requirements of the design brief. Brendan adds that the company’s racks and cabinets are designed with maximum use and functionality in mind.

“Listening to customer feedback and our own R&D programmes, we have developed industry specific clip in, or ‘tool-less’ features, such as our vertical 19-inch rail adjustment, cable management systems, power distribution units and shelving systems,” he adds.

The flexibility of CRS designs allows customers to realise immediate financial benefits through reduced running costs and also take advantage of improvements to energy efficiency in the long term, thus minimising emissions and substantially reducing cooling and energy costs. The extensive experience of the company’s design staff enables them to quickly understand the space, cooling, and efficiency issues inside a customer’s datacentre, comms room or office.

One specialised field where CRS has a market lead is hot/cold-aisle containment systems. CRS installations can be designed and fabricated with or without a raised floor, utilising both in-row coolers and computer room air conditioning (CRAC) units. CRAC units are replacing standard airconditioning in datacentres as they are more dynamic systems that monitor and maintain the temperature, air distribution and humidity instead of just blowing cold air.

According to Brendan, the company’s growing market share is a direct result of its ability to respond to customer feedback and current industry requirements.

“We work with our clients to design an appropriate solution that meets their immediate needs but is flexible enough to be as ‘future proof’ as possible.”