Data Center Infrastructure Management Solutions

Per one of the earliest definitions from Gartner Inc, "Data Center Infrastructure Management integrates facets of system management with building management and energy management, with a focus on IT assets and the physical infrastructure needed to support them."

Data Center Management is a relatively new expression that describes a gamut of physical IT solutions. As early as 2010, Gartner had predicted that DCIM would grow exponentially from 1% coverage of data centers in 2010 to 60% in 2014 (DCIM: Going Beyond IT, Gartner Research, March 2010).

Analyst firm IDC also believes DCIM will be an important growth enabler till 2016. [1] IDC

So what is the hype around DCIM?

Today IT decision-makers are struggling to create Data Center environments that are customized yet interoperable, and functionally compatible yet fully secure. Most conventional Data Centers manage operations using a mix of spreadsheets, physical presence of personnel at the DC, manually collected, diffused, dispersed, incomplete and unstructured readings of data across multiple systems, proprietary databases and manual processes. These implements cannot interwork optimally to address critical business requirements such as dynamic resource reallocation, or real-time asset headcount within the Data Center.

Modern DCIM solutions today include, but are not limited to services built around goals like Data Center growth, efficiency, risk mitigation and management of IT Assets, Cooling Systems, and Power. These DCIM services are supported by enabler technologies like Automation, Cloud, Green IT, Usability and Virtualization.

The main benefits to business from modern DCIM solutions can be listed below:

• Business alignment through accurate and timely forecasting, demand and load planning
• Efficiency and economies of scale through automating processes that were traditionally run through Excel or other sub-optimal tools.
• Visibility and tracking of all IT assets, network topographies and changes to these, enabling quicker asset procurement, provisioning, decommissioning or network planning
• Energy efficiency through outage management and automation, carbon-footprint tracking- and-controls

IDC’s report, "IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Data center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) 2011 Vendor Analysis" outlines the expectation of the industry from this line of business. It highlights how mature companies are making large investments to establishing themselves in this evolving market.

Are you evaluating DCIM for achieving Data Center Efficiency? What are your expectations from this technology and DCIM service providers?