DCIM - Data Center Infrastructure Management
Understanding DCIM: Essential Insights for Data Center Management
Why invest in DCIM?
Work faster, increase revenue, improve utilization and provide service differentiation
Over the last several years, companies looking to reduce data center operating costs, or avoid costly expansions of existing facilities, have considered using Colocation as a viable option for reducing operating expenditures and capital expenditures costs associated with operating an in-house data center. This rise in popularity has created higher levels of competition between Colocation operators to onboard new customers quicker and keep them longer, through the use of value-added services.
Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM), empowers colocation operators to better manage their facilities by consolidating all the information needed to make smarter, faster decisions for infrastructure planning and the day-to-day management of hosted equipment. DCIM solutions like OpenData collect real-time data from facility infrastructure and IT equipment, providing operational insight into resource capacity planning as new customers are added (or deleted) and have the ability to share this management information with customers as a value-added service.
With DCIM, colocation operators can transform their business by having the information they need to work faster, increase revenue, improve utilization and provide service differentiation to their customers — while reducing the risk of unplanned downtime from increased density.
Download the White Paper:
Top 5 Reasons Colocation Providers Need DCIM
The Best Data Center Infrastructure Management Platform
OpenData from Modius delivers complete operational intelligence based on real-time data for superior management of data centers and facilities. OpenData is a highly scalable IoT software platform designed to collect the unstructured “big data” that is generated from all the infrastructure, sensors, applications, and IT equipment found in today’s modern data centers and facilities. We use this real-time data to enable smarter management decisions, reduce operational risks and provide a superior solution for Data Center Infrastructure Management, (DCIM).
OpenData DCIM Solutions
Whether your organization is a colocation provider, a managed service provider, an application cloud-based service provider, or all of the above, the need for complete and accurate visibility into infrastructure is the key to successfully managing costs, capacity and availability. Because DCIM solutions like OpenData provide real-time data collection and analytics for intelligent capacity planning, all types of service providers can benefit. DCIM makes it possible to optimize the profits derived from your facilities by identifying and freeing stranded capacity, increasing the productivity of your service staff, and insuring that all your SLAs are achieved.
What is DCIM Software?
Software for Data Center Infrastructure Management
Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM)1 software gives data center operators the ability to run efficient data center operations. DCIM software is used to monitor, measure, and manage data centers, covering both IT equipment and supporting infrastructure such as power and cooling systems. DCIM software can bridge information across organizational domains – Data Center Ops, Facilities, and IT to maximize utilization of the data center.
Advantages
- Faster Customer On-boarding
- Faster MTTD and MTTR times for problem resolution
- Superior capacity planning and resource management
- More flexible billing options
- Customer visibility for collocated equipment
Benefits
- More revenue at a faster pace
- Less downtime and SLA compliance
- Provides resource optimization and lower operating costs
- Provides a competitive advantage over other colocation operators not offering DCIM
How it works
- Data Center power and cooling infrastructure is identified and OpenData device templates are used to pull the appropriate data points from each device being monitored
- Collector software is configured to combine data points into useful power generation and consumption metrics, normalize data and set performance monitoring thresholds
- Collector software polls data from the power and cooling equipment in real-time and passes it back to the OpenData application for storage in the central database
- Colocation operator loads CAD drawings of floor, rooms, cages and facility infrastructure into OpenData creating a virtual data center for build-out planning and on-boarding new customers
- Colocation customers can use OpenData to manage their equipment (alarms and events, moves, adds, and changes, etc.)
- Power consumption data can be used to offer measured power billing to customers
- Performance data collected by OpenData can be used to verify service level agreement (SLA) compliance
Features
- A comprehensive library of device templates for all data center equipment manufacturers (infrastructure and IT)
- Single repository of all assets across multiple data centers
- Complete visualization of data center floors and racks
- Virtual modeling of moves, adds, changes (MAC) initiatives
- Space reservations for future projects (customer on-boarding)
- Visualization and documentation of power and network cabling
- Advanced search capabilities to locate assets or identify available capacity
- User level security to restrict access to data and functionality (customer portal)
- Designed to support easy integration with other applications (billing)
For more information on OpenData’s top 5 reasons colocation operators need DCIM capabilities
Latest on data center technology from Modius
What is Cooling Capacity Factor and Why It Matters for Data Center Management
Your Data Center Is Cool. But Is It Efficient? Today’s data centers are under constant pressure to maximize efficiency and reduce costs, all while maintaining
When Devices Go Dark: How Smarter DCIM Prevents Data Center Downtime
Unexpected device failures are a nightmare for data center operators. When a critical piece of equipment stops working, the fallout can be massive: downtime, lost
Modius® Inc. Launches Game-Changing 3D Visualization for OpenData® Platform
Washington, DC – April 14, 2025 – At the Data Center World event, Modius Inc. is thrilled to unveil an innovative 3D visualization capability for its
Why an Asset Master Catalog is Essential for DCIM Success
Effective Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) starts with accurate asset tracking. Asset templates are used to add new assets to the DCIM system. Each template
