This was overheard last week from a seasoned data center veteran: DCIM largely failed to live up to its past promises...
Executive Summary
Early DCIM implementations struggled because the supporting technologies — IoT, real-time telemetry, and cloud-scale data pipelines — simply did not exist yet. Today, those barriers are gone. Modern DCIM platforms like Modius OpenData deliver real-time, AI/ML-ready infrastructure visibility that unifies physical (OT) and IT systems into a single, actionable view — what Modius calls Data Center 4.0.
What do you think? Another over-hyped hype cycle?
The technologies of modern, “smart” infrastructure management weren’t available a decade ago — or were rare and unaffordable –or seen as unnecessary — or certainly not in the sense of seconds of real-time immediacy. As a result, adopters of DCIM a decade ago — often themselves without a clear understanding of the business problems they wished to solve –- dove head-first into a “boiling-the-ocean” approach.
First, the term Internet of Things (IoT), coined in 1999, hadn’t yet been extrapolated to include DCIM. By anyone. Second, “Industry 4.0” notions weren’t articulated until 2011 as part of German government industrial policy. Even then, what was meant by it was vague, at best. No one ever has thought (to our knowledge) about DCIM as the data center manifestation of the Industrial IoT or the larger encompassing of digitally transformative Industry 4.0.
However, we at Modius now believe that’s just what it is.
The present term of art — “digital infrastructure” — places facilities infrastructure as being integral to, and inseparable from, IT infrastructure. The hype-cycle curve has now leveled. Smart DCIM now fits the modern context of hyperscale and hyperconvergence — real-time telemetry-gathered data — harmonized, orchestrated and presented for real-time operational insight – and importantly, for AI/ML analyses. Autonomously delivering real-time, intuitive end-to-end visibility and actionable knowledge. At any scale. With agility.
The true software-defined data center (SDDC; aka the Data-Driven Data Center) — first articulated in 2012 by former VMware CTO Steve Harrod, is well on its way to reality.
While we’re still a step away from full lights-out autonomy in the data center (and we may elect to remain that way for some indeterminant time), remote, real-time discovery, with executable, repeatable knowledge is now available.
What’s been missing is the right software solution to take advantage of all of this data.
Modius OpenData has been designed from the ground up to thrive in these environments. The heart of OpenData is built on data collection at scale. It just works. And our customers prove it every day for themselves and for their customers. OpenData can work together, independently, or integrate with your existing systems to deliver flow and capacity optimization, resilience, and component asset health.
And it’s why we are coming to DCW/Austin this year -and several other shows – to help people understand that Vertiv’s unplugging of Trellis wasn’t the end of DCIM but, instead, the validation of thoroughly modern DCIM.
Please let me know if this is a conversation you’d like to have with us —- the one where Modius OpenData epitomizes the smart convergence of OT physical facilities infrastructure management with IT infrastructure management to create the true present state of smart, integrated digital infrastructure management.
What we’re calling Data Center 4.0.
See us at Booth#936 at Data Center World (DCW) – Austin 2022. Or, better yet, let’s set up an appointment. We’ve got some great news to share with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did early DCIM implementations fail to deliver on their promises?
Answer: Early DCIM failed primarily because the enabling technologies — IoT, real-time telemetry at scale, AI/ML pipelines, and affordable edge computing — did not yet exist. Adopters also often lacked clear definitions of the business problems they were trying to solve, leading to overly broad, “boil-the-ocean” deployments. The concept was sound; the infrastructure to support it was not yet mature.
What is the difference between traditional DCIM and modern smart digital infrastructure management?
Answer: Traditional DCIM focused on asset inventory and basic monitoring, often with significant manual data entry. Modern smart digital infrastructure management — as embodied by platforms like Modius OpenData — delivers real-time telemetry, automated data normalization, AI/ML-ready data pipelines, and unified OT/IT visibility. The gap between the two generations is substantial.
What is Data Center 4.0?
Answer: Data Center 4.0 is Modius’s term for the current state of smart, integrated digital infrastructure management. It applies Industry 4.0 principles — real-time data, IoT integration, and intelligent automation — to the data center context, converging OT (physical facilities) and IT infrastructure into a single, continuously monitored operational environment.
How does Modius OpenData support AI and machine learning?
Answer: Modius OpenData collects and normalizes infrastructure telemetry data at scale, producing a harmonized, structured data set that is well-suited for AI/ML analysis. Rather than requiring data scientists to clean and restructure raw monitoring data, OpenData delivers analysis-ready outputs from the point of collection.
Is DCIM still relevant after Vertiv discontinued Trellis?
Answer: Yes — and Modius views Vertiv’s discontinuation of Trellis as market validation rather than a negative signal. Legacy-architecture DCIM platforms are being phased out precisely because modern data centers require capabilities those platforms cannot provide. The demand for modern DCIM has increased. Review the DCIM Buyer’s Guide to understand what to look for.
Can Modius OpenData integrate with existing infrastructure management tools?
Answer: Yes. Modius OpenData is designed to work standalone, cooperatively alongside existing systems, or as a full replacement for legacy DCIM platforms. Its integration flexibility is a core design principle, allowing organizations to modernize incrementally rather than requiring a complete rip-and-replace.