How DCIM Can Minimise The Risk Of Downtime And Save Cost On Datacentre

For any organisation to be successful in the technology driven 21st century, its IT arm must align with business objectives and deliver applications efficiently and effectively to better service its customers and employees. And, at the heart of all IT operations is the datacentre with its complex infrastructure – space, power, cooling, cables, servers, storage and communications. It is capital intensive, energy intensive and technology intensive.

The challenges for both the datacentre operations management and the organisation’s
executive management responsible for the IT function come from all directions.

• Minimise risk of downtime

• Satisfy demand for new applications to facilitate business/revenue growth

• Satisfy internal user needs as overall organisation grows and changes

• Comply with audits, both internal and government regulatory

• Reduce/control energy usage/costs

• Maximise utilisation of current resources

• Improve staff productivity

• Incorporate processes to address green initiatives

• Deal with the rate of technological change

• Live within tighter budget constraints

• Finance major capital investments

Simply stated, the challenge is to properly align the IT function operation with the organisation’s overall business plan and operational requirements.

Many organisations have already responded by replacing home grown tools based on spreadsheets and diagramming software with comprehensive Datacentre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software. A complete DCIM solution collects & maintains accurate data of the datacentre’s assets and provides clear information & reports to manage capacity and help streamline modifications. DCIM makes it possible for executives and datacentre management to set and meet datacentre performance objectives that support the organisation’s overall operations. With DCIM software, datacentre operations managers can clearly identify, locate, visualise and manage all physical datacentre assets – racks/cabinets, servers, storage, network devices, power and cooling – as well as their connectivity. With the help of DCIM software, they can simply provision new equipment, measure and reduce energy costs, improve productivity and confidently plan capacity for future growth.

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In all organisations, the datacentre is responsible for some combination of:
a. Directly generating revenue,
b. Delivering the applications to customers that generate the revenue, and
c. Providing the services to employees that drive the organisation.

How DCIM Software Can Make a Difference – ROI and More

McKinsey & Company has estimated that operation of the corporate datacentre consumes 25% of the IT budget (plus an additional 15% for network LAN/WAN making it an obvious target for improved efficiency and cost reduction). Reliable operation of the datacentre is vital to the success of any organisation, but achieving a cost-effective result requires the use of sophisticated tools to deal with its complexity, just as we do in all other areas of the business. A robust DCIM product will satisfy most datacentre management requirements, and its positive ROI impact will be both immediate and long term. Few key DCIM applications and the immediate direct and indirect cost benefits that users experience are —

• Asset Management

• Change Management

• Capacity Management and Planning

• Advanced (Integrated) Energy Monitoring and Management.

Datacentre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software will give companies the visibility, control and insight to leverage IT assets to align with business goals.

The author is Sales Director – India & SEA at Raritan.