Microsoft has come up with a faster, cheaper way to build its data centers over the next five years, and it says other companies could use its methods too.

Microsoft's approach, described by General Manager Michael Manos in a blog post Tuesday, uses a modular design in which standard units of computing, cooling and electrical equipment are delivered to a facility on the back of a truck and assembled on site. The system, which Microsoft calls its "Generation 4" design, will allow its data centers to become operational more quickly and cut the cost of building traditional, brick and mortar facilities.

"Our 'Gen 4' modular data centers will take the flexibility of containerized servers -- like those in our Chicago data center -- and apply it across the entire facility," Manos wrote, referring to servers that are delivered and run in self-contained shipping containers. "Think of it like 'building blocks,' where the data center will be composed of modular units of prefabricated mechanical, electrical, security components, etc., in addition to containerized servers."

Some companies already use modular computing and cooling systems for specific jobs, but Microsoft is taking the idea a step further. Its clout as a big customer means it can persuade equipment makers to build products that meet its specifications, and it is developing common interfaces for computers, power supplies and generators that manufacturers will be able to "plug into," it said.

"In short, we are striving to bring Henry Ford's Model T factory to the data center. ... Gen 4 will move data centers from a custom design and build model to a commoditized manufacturing approach. We intend to have our components built in factories and then assemble them in one location (the data center site) very quickly. "

It would be a big change in how data centers are built and one that's important for Microsoft as it looks for a cost effective way to expand the infrastructure for its online services. Microsoft plans to build 20 "supersize" data centers in the coming years at a cost of up to $1 billion each, according to a recent BusinessWeek article. Manos said the Gen 4 design will cut the time it takes Microsoft to build a data center in half, to one year, and reduce its capital costs by up to 40 percent.

The containerized equipment allows Microsoft to take other radical steps, like building data centers with no roofs. Besides cutting construction costs, this makes it much easier to use outside air for cooling systems, one of the costliest areas of a data center. Microsoft said it is working with server vendors to develop systems that can operate in wider temperature ranges -- 10 to 35 degrees centigrade -- so that in some cases it can eliminate chiller equipment completely.