DCIM – Data Centre Infrastructure Management

“It is very important to get both IT and facilities groups together before even jotting down the requirement for a DCIM solution. One needs to look at holistic solutions and not treat IT and facilities management as two different silos.” Vivek Vikram Singh. Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) shares much of its DNA with OSS, but also has a number of unique differences. Similarities:

• IT and network device management, including life-cycle management (ITIL / ITSM)
• Electronic data collection and storage
• Analytics and operational decision support
• Planning and design tools
• Predictive modelling
• Process and change management
• Capacity planning, resource allocation and provisioning

Differences (ie what Data Centres have that CSP networks don’t):

• Facilities / Building Management Systems (FMS/BMS)
• Energy management
• Environment and heat management
• Data Centres tend to have less outside plant or inter-site connectivity* (ie most power and network links tend to reside within the Data Centres), but cable management and network links are more likely to be managed within 3D spatial systems (x, y and height), not just the x and y coordinates of GIS (Geographical Information Systems)
• Data Centres tend to have a higher proportion of virtualised assets than traditional CSPs

TechNavio predicts “The Global Data Center market is expected to post a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 10.71 percent during the period 2012-2016“ whilst 451 Research predicts a 44% CAGR in DCIM revenues from 2011-2016 (see graph below). These are really interesting numbers, so in tomorrow’s blog we’ll look at some of the differences listed above to see how traditional OSS could enhance their offerings to meet the needs of the DCIM market. * There are of course multi-site DC organisations that have links between their sites, but they tend to outsource their long-haul network links to traditional carriers.