Legrand North America
Downsizing Data Centers

It was clearly the day for Legrand at Cisco Live! 2018. Legrand’s logo adorned every side of every pillar in the building. Apart from the aisle containment and fiber and copper connectivity solutions provided for the event’s network operations center (NOC), Legrand’s simplified edge vertical wall-mounts, the central hub for network connectivity, was a key attraction of the trade show. For Rebecca Gilstrap, director of strategy at Legrand North America, memories of last year’s Cisco Live! are still fresh. She remarks, “Cisco Live! 2018 is a perfect example of simplified edge deployment that we have developed.”

The rapid evolution of the data communication space is forcing businesses to keep up with the changing times. Quick deployment and seamless integration of data communication devices have become crucial for many businesses in their daily operations. Overall, the industry is now looking at high-density, compact data center solutions which require redesigning of the data centers to be more compact, optimized, and performance oriented.

To meet these evolving needs, Legrand worked on structural redesigning of the traditional cabinet to make it more compact. The final product is a vertical wall-mount cabinet, fitted with remote door lock with card access, a door contact sensor, intelligent PDU, high-density patch panel, and LED task light—a deviation from the normal, large cabinet structures.

According to Gary Hess, VP and general manager of data communications division at Legrand North America, this redesigning is a quantum leap in their quest to transform the data center space. “At Legrand, our vision is to simplify the connectivity and physical infrastructure of data centers and smart building networks,” says Hess, reiterating the driving force behind the team.

Compact and optimized data centers also require businesses to follow certain best practices. This would lead to upgrading the existing security, power, cooling, and cabling solutions. Legrand helps businesses overcome these challenges and be an active participant in the evolution. Legrand offers a holistic solution to businesses. The company has the capacity to support any firm through the different stages of setting up a data center—starting with conceptualization and designing to installation, support, and maintenance. Legrand’s extensive range of products and solutions include copper and fiber cabling and connectivity solutions, cabinets and racks, PDU/UPS, transceivers, and thermal management solutions to meet the current networking needs and support future performance demands. Simultaneously, Legrand offers integrated, intelligent edge computing solutions that simplify remote IT infrastructure and management, while offering scalability and flexibility through a wide range of physical infrastructure, power, and network connectivity products. Gilstrap says, “Our products are at the foundation of data centers, providing performance and uptime to the overall network.”

Over the past few years, Legrand has gained market recognition and reputation through in-depth technical knowledge and proven expertise in the domain. Driven by the aspiration to be the market leader in data center infrastructure solutions, Legrand is utilizing market predictions and industry experience to create future-proof data centers. For the company, the next challenge is to offer increased power and more secure infrastructure, while optimizing the uptime of data centers. On a concluding note, Gilstrap says, “We are working on infrastructure thinking 5 to 10 years into the future. There is an ongoing shift in the data communication industry, and we are proud to be a key instrument in sustaining this evolution.”