Regardless of the size of your data centre, educating yourself on data centre infrastructure management (DCIM) offers an important way to reduce costs, anticipate and prevent problems and to carry out effective capacity planning.
What is DCIM software and how can it benefit your business?
Tracking and monitoring of data centre assets has long been an important feature of information technology. Data centre infrastructure management solutions are designed to build on this strategy by bringing together a number of prudent actions into one comprehensive approach. Instead of focusing upon just one factor, DCIM tools focus upon the whole issue and how each single data centre asset works with the others. The data centre aspects covered include:
- Tracking of assets
- Analysis of virtual and logical systems
- Changing management strategies
- Consolidation of locations and resources
- Multiple level monitoring
- Utility management tools
- Devising cost effective utilisation systems
Data centre management tools in action
Data centre infrastructure management DCIM solutions vary greatly in terms of size and complexity as they are directly linked to the data centre in question. A huge range of variables are at play, including the size of the data centre, the age and type of the equipment being used, the requirements of the business or organisation. This means that it is impossible and impractical to make generalisations which apply to all data centres. Here are a couple of hypothetical scenarios which will make it easier to understand how the process works:
- A company wants to create a complete record of all of their data centre assets, such as the technical and financial aspects. In this case the company should use strategies to analyse how their overall assets impact upon and relate to one another, helping them to decide whether they help or hinder their business goals.
- Another approach is to use real-time monitoring and predictive analysis to enable data centre technicians to identify problems before they arise; giving them the opportunity to proactively move resources and avoid disruption. In addition, this approach also allows technicians to maximise resource utilisation whilst maximising efficiency.
- The health of servers depends upon environmental controls. Data centre infrastructure management software offers a way to integrate data on server performance and environmental conditions, with the aim of creating reports and models which give an overview of the health of the entire infrastructure.
Next generation DCIM can help you transform your business
Although implementing infrastructure management can be a challenging process, it is important to remember that the money, time and energy spent are hugely important and worthwhile investments. If approached in the correct way, data centre infrastructure management can help reduce energy consumption, prolong the life of servers whilst improving their performance, eradicate downtime to provide a digital transformation of your mission-critical IT infrastructure.