| What is the value of Data Center Management | | | | can give you a single truth in the data center |
| software? This is a common question that gets posed | | | | environment. |
| to me by prospective clients. It is a legitimate question | | | | This is the value of data center software, having the |
| in that for a long time a data centers' infrastructure | | | | capability of getting a single truth for any type of critical |
| have been managed by having people keep | | | | information type across the data center environment. It |
| spreadsheets of server counts, and locations. This in | | | | is amazing to see how far the industry has come in |
| tandem with separate spread sheets or documents | | | | the last few years with about 6-8 companies now |
| with room drawings and power/network cable runs. A | | | | making software solutions for the data center that can |
| lot of companies would recognize this issue and try to | | | | help you manage your entire environment by giving |
| build "grass roots" solutions in house. These solutions | | | | you the capabilities to visualize, provision, capacity plan, |
| almost never worked well, and helped to illuminate | | | | monitor, manage assets and change management in |
| another issue of ownership of change management of | | | | your facilities, network, and server/Host environment. |
| devices/drawings in the data center. This issue can | | | | A few years ago the best funded companies realized |
| lead to shining a spotlight on trying to resolve the task | | | | the need to resolve this issue, and they purchased the |
| of tracking and analyzing power consumption and | | | | market leader Aperture Software. Aperture made a |
| cooling data over a long period of time. | | | | good product for its day, but at a very high price point |
| Lots of can throw a meter on a circuit, but how do | | | | based on your square footage, most companies just |
| you get a long term picture of how much power each | | | | can not afford or justify the ROI or Return on |
| device is consuming? Getting the answer to that | | | | Investment for their product line. Without a solid ROI, |
| question will allow an administrator to maximize their | | | | this project does not make sense. There have been a |
| efficiency in their IT environment. The type of power | | | | lot of start up companies that have stepped in with |
| consumption by the devices on the data center floor | | | | solutions as well, but they are plagued by the same |
| along with the cooling challenges associated with trying | | | | issues that most start ups have, little money and |
| keep the temperatures in line across the board, your | | | | support. A company has stepped forward with a very |
| interests are best served by having a single and | | | | strong offering at a great price point, and they are also |
| accurate usable database to be able to generate | | | | very well heeled. That company is Raritan Computing. |
| reports and give you firm metrics to help an | | | | Raritan has a great product called dcTrack that |
| administrator maximize their resources. So with the | | | | recently won the Search Data Center Product of the |
| issue of any single administrator or group trying to get | | | | year award. This is a product that is well worth |
| their arms around all the complex issues that are | | | | checking out. |
| present in any data center, you need something that | | | | |