So occasionally we get the question as to what is Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) and what is the advantage to deploying it?

The DCIM tools have been around for quite some time.  Early adopters of this technology tended to be large enterprises screaming for help managing power, space, hardware and connectivity. Many early adopters integrated tools that were proprietary systems that were  expensive to implement, manage, and maintain.  In contrast, in the GREEN era, the push to lower power consumption and increase efficiencies across the lifespan of data centers has climbed to the top of most organization’s priority lists.

Until recently most end users did not have the ability to accurately plan and manage what was driving their power and space requirements in the data centers.  Organizations were forced to use a combination of tools that include CAD, Visio, MS Excel, and other homegrown, manually intensive, databases. When we have asked, as is our practice, data center operations managers for their best guess at the level of accuracy of the information maintained in those tools the responses were less than confident.

Today’s organizations have a variety of DCIM options to choose from. The price point has come down, auto-discovery tools are much more advanced, and the provisioning tools and modeling capabilities can shave weeks, if not months, off data center migration projects.

The Problem:

The value proposition is there, the ROI models have been built, white papers have been written and industry experts like Forrester and Gartner have predicted tremendous growth in the space.  So then why do we not see a greater adoption rate of DCIM tools in the market today?

The answer is simple. The purchase and deployment of a DCIM tool requires planning and budgeting in early stages of a data center build or relocation.  Unfortunately most clients start to research these tools much too late in the project. The data center consulting team at IDMWorks has been working with a host of DCIM tools over the past couple of years.

The Solution:

The key to success is to have discussions about the value of a DCIM tool early in the data center relocation process.

Another key factor is getting buy in from the different silos within IT that this tool will help to improve the ability to do their job better, quicker, faster, and smarter.

IDMWorks introduces the utilization of DCIM tools for our customers in our very first statement of work.  Our methodology is to capture costs associated with using the DCIM tool for planning purposes and provide an order of magnitude pricing for the purchase at the end of the project. Through this approach we allow our customers to see the ROI the tool will provide and allow them to make the best decision possible on whether to integrate this tool into the ongoing operation of their data center or not.

Knowledge is power and when it comes to a data center knowledge about your power is everything.