NTT-ME is entering the containerized data center business. This year, NTT-ME acquired 50,000 square meters of land in Ishikari City. NTT-ME plans to build up to 14 containerized data centers on the land. The first unit is scheduled to be operational in April 2027. The investment for each containerized data center is estimated to be approximately 2 billion yen.
Demand for data centers is rising due to advances in AI and other technologies, but supply is currently not keeping up with demand. One factor contributing to this is the time required to build a typical building-type data center.
Jiro Suizu, head of the Data Center Business Promotion Division in NTT-ME’s Telecommunications Carrier & Data Center Business Department, said, “Currently, it takes about six years from construction to start of operation for a building-type data center. This is not enough to meet current demand.”
Containerized data centers, on the other hand, can be built and started in about one year. The company is promoting the containerized model, emphasizing the advantage of being able to get started in a short amount of time.
Another advantage of the containerized model is that it allows for the rapid introduction of the latest technology.
“Technology is constantly evolving, and what is cutting-edge today may become outdated in five or six years. With the containerized model, we can quickly introduce the latest technology,” says Suizu.
For the time being, the company plans to appeal to domestic businesses such as GPU clouds, system integrators, and local universities. Suizu says, “We expect annual revenue of around 1 billion yen per unit.”

NTT-ME also plans to roll out a one-stop solution utilizing its data center business know-how by next fiscal year.
The data center business faces various hurdles, such as land surveys, power adjustments, design, and procurement. Containerized data centers in particular are a relatively new and immature market, so new entrants will be feeling their way around.
“We want to support these businesses with our solutions. We handle everything from land surveys to design, construction, operation, maintenance and networks. We believe that our strength lies in the fact that we can handle networks as well,” says Suizu.
The container-type systems are small, so they can be installed individually even in small spaces. Taking advantage of this advantage, the company will also promote efforts to utilize vacant space in local governments and companies.
“In some cases, we may even be able to use NTT  buildings. We would like to expand to areas across the country where there is demand,” says Suizu.

※Translating Japanese articles into English with AI