Here’s What You Should Know About Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM)

As business requirements continue to grow, they must also adapt their data center to ensure constant uptime, which helps save on downtime costs. Hence, it has given rise to various new data center infrastructure management tools, also known as DCIM tools, to help operations managers better oversee their more complex tasks.

DCIM tools enable operations managers to better track information involving the use of data capacity and the energy consumption and costs of servers, storage, networking hardware, and other IT-related equipment.

They also help them better manage and control the facility’s infrastructure components, including PDUs (Power Distribution Units) and computer room cooling systems, as well as help with the successful incorporation of software and sensors for real-time monitoring across all systems for both IT and the facility’s infrastructure for improved data center management and efficiency, which helps lower costs.

In fact, there are many benefits of DCIM, including:

It Helps Improve Resource Utilization

In many cases, data centers have a large number of servers that are not being put to use or that aren’t used that often, resulting in wasted resources.

However, virtualization, which is one of the main factors spurring the need for data and facility management, can help improve the utilization of resources.

Virtualization is nothing more than the creation of a virtual resource, such as a file or operating system, etc., which managers can use to create a prototype of possible improvements that can be made to current workloads.

It also enables them to outline what they need and the prospective costs for these changes to consider how they will impact the facility to make the best choices.

It Helps Control Energy Consumption

Centers for data storage utilize lots of power, which impacts the country as a whole.

Hence, operations managers should always be considering ways to control energy consumption to benefit both the facility and the environment and to meet regulatory requirements, which data and facility management tools can help them do by providing them with the necessary insight into their energy use.

This way, managers can better control their consumption and their costs by making necessary equipment changes and more to improve efficiency.

It Decreases the Number of Downtime Incidents

Power outages are a major concern for operations managers because it threatens availability.

In fact, in most cases, the IT department is left to depend on service level agreements (SLA ) to prevent the possibility of downtime, which only increases the pressure.

However, data space and facility management tools, such as work order software for facility maintenance, can be used to help keep managers on top of any threats to downtime by alerting them of potential issues within the infrastructure before they occur.

This way, they can take the proper steps necessary to prevent any issues for continuous uptime.

Things to Consider Before Incorporating Data Space and Facility Management Tools Into Your Business

Data spaces are rooted in various technologies; therefore, it can be extremely challenging to manage them.

Until now, there were only 3 vendors that offered monitoring and management tools: system and hardware vendors, IT management vendors, and data station and infrastructure vendors.

However, as of current, there is also the potential for data station and facility management tool vendors. Not to mention, other notable groups are also starting to add their own family of products.

So what this means for operations managers is they must first understand the crucial needs of their data space and facility and then be able to look at the myriad of management solutions offered to determine which tools work and if and how they will integrate with their current tools, etc.

They must also be able to anticipate how these solutions may change over time to choose a solution that will continue to meet their needs.

However, in the end, it is up to the facility, which controls the physical aspects of the workspace, and the IT department, which controls the internal infrastructure of the data space, to share information and collaborate toward the same goal of creating an optimized facility, which data station and facility management tools can help them do.

But most analysts agree that whatever you do, you should not neglect the power of data space and facility management tools for creating a truly effective workplace and without the use of various software.

So while they do warn that businesses must do their research before jumping into data solution and facility management tools, they advise that companies that don’t make the move to such tools risk a chance at future growth