Networked Enterprise Featured Article

Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) tools have become mission critical to creating an efficient data center. This week, IDC (News - Alert) MarketScape released new research evaluating DCIM vendors to help those seeking better data center performance make the best choice.

The vendors report evaluated Panduit, Sunbird Software, ABB, CA Technologies (News - Alert), CommScope and Siemens—to name a few. Solutions vary in their nature, which is why evaluation was made based multiple criteria. For example, some solutions address IT asset management and data center resources, others focus more on the infrastructure and building controls. Some are strictly software based and some are focused on services.

According to Jennifer Koppy, Research Director, Datacenter Management at IDC, "To date, the most successful DCIM vendors have been those that have worked closely with end user customers to ensure accurate and complete collection of data in the deployment phase. As DCIM deployments continue to mature, IDC expects that a competitive differentiator will be the DCIM providers' ability to automate maintenance and management processes to support remote management and lights-out datacenters.”

When making a selection, a firm must take an honest look at operations and set goals for its DCIM deployment. In the report, IDC makes three suggestions to managers looking for a DCIM solution. IDC notes it is vital to make sure the solution can interact and integrate with other management tools already in place in one’s data center. Secondly, it is vital invest in predictive analytics and automation technology. This allows for a more agile and efficient data center as a result of proactive decisions based on actionable insight. Thirdly, the report notes that when selecting a solution its scalabilty must be taken into account. The solution must be able to analyze data in real time securely, so it must be able to handle large data sets.

 The selection process should not be taken lightly, as a data center is intended to provide IT services to a firm, DCIM provides for the delivery of service without sacrificing reliability or uptime. Koppy noted, "When implemented well and supported across the enterprise, DCIM can be a critical step in delivering datacenter resources in a highly service-oriented way to customers."