It’s no secret that a well-implemented DCIM (Data Center Infrastructure Management) solution offers several key benefits to today’s increasingly complex data centers. Without transparency and timely management, many hybrid IT environments that include the cloud would drift into unregulated chaos. DCIM, with the proper data input and operational controls, provides the details to conduct cost comparisons between running “in house” versus moving the workload to a cloud environment.

A Boon to Mission Critical Applications

For data centers dovetailing their enterprises into the cloud and those that have already done so, the right DCIM package allows managers to efficiently manage both public and private clouds. This can be critically important, particularly when one needs to keep a steady eye on mission-critical applications. Ask any data center manager and they’ll tell you, this is one area where work must be delivered on time, at the right price, and be almost boringly predictable.

More Control, Agility and Transparency

For many data centers, cloud computing has shaken traditional cost structures to the core. Driven by customer demands for more flexibility, resource sharing, and ease of use, many enterprises have embraced the cloud as an idea whose time has come. It’s a windfall of benefits for customers, but for providers, it means maintaining far more control, agility, and transparency at virtually every level. This is where the right DCIM software dons its “hero cape” in serving the complex needs of both public and private clouds. It’s also interesting to note that both are becoming mirror images of each other. Each must be responsive to changing needs, be agile enough to ensure rapid turnarounds, and possess robust accounting abilities.

Soup-to-Nuts Benefits

Well-designed DCIM tools allow data center personnel to improve existing capacity, sidestep pricey build-outs, and ensure that all IT workloads are properly delineated. Data centers need DCIM and what it provides, especially amidst the growing complexity one finds in these enterprises. DCIM tools allow organizations to seize on the opportunities ushered in by tech advances. Consider, too, the very nature of today’s data center. Many are becoming distributed entities and, as such, stand much to gain from DCIM solutions that clearly present a unified view of the entire infrastructure.

Cloud Brokering

There’s no denying that the demand for cloud computing has soared in recent years. Much of this demand is due to more companies offering computing as a service. This service has, over the years, become dependent on specific vendors. And thanks to cloud interoperability, customers can employ the same management tools, server images, and other software over a variety of cloud computing providers and operating platforms. These changes have caught the attention of both cloud users and service providers. Choosing the right provider, one that meets specific user requirements, amidst a sea of vendors can be problematic.

Enter cloud brokering. These brokering services can prove beneficial in choosing an appropriate provider, one that can take on the challenges of cloud-to-cloud communication. The right DCIM package can act as an agent of cloud brokering software, affording data centers the ease and agility to switch or enhance provisioning among various cloud providers.

Michael L. Ross, a data center management consultant who has over 10 years helping large data centers reduce their total cost of ownership notes that management tools like Tuangru’s RAMP DCIM can be a key asset for today’s data centers when it comes to cloud brokering.

“Cloud brokering requires you to identify your total costs per unit of service for the on-premise environment,” noted Ross. ” This must include infrastructure costs associated with power, space, and cooling elements along with the IT components and operational cost. Having the cost per unit of service allows you to cost compare where the service should run to return the most savings. But that is only one half of the story. Once you have decided to move a workload to a public cloud you need a tool to verify cost savings are realized. This is the strength of RAMP; it allows you tap into the public cloud to validate the savings.”

The decision to convert data centers to private or hybrid clouds was based on reducing the total cost of ownership. But capturing the data during the transition posed a challenge, especially when trying to identify server image metrics running in a private cloud. Idle servers in this environment can eat into an IT budget. RAMP provides the data that delivers both cost control and the cloud’s inherent promise—reduced cost of ownership.

About Jad Jabera
Jad Jebara is president and CEO of Tuangru, a next-generation data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software provider. He previously served as senior vice president of finance and administration at Peer 1 Hosting (now Cogeco Peer 1), a hosting service provider where he was responsible for finance, supply chain, and IT.

About Rajan Sodhi
Rajan Sodhi is CMO of Vancouver, Canada-based Tuangru, a next-generation data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software provider with tools that are as meaningful to the C-suite as they are to operators. Users get actionable intelligence that allows them to reduce IT cost, manage workloads and mitigate outages. Contact Mr. Sodhi at rajan.sodhi@tuangru.ca.

About Tuangru
Tuangru’s next generation data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software is designed for today’s hybrid IT environments. Whether workloads reside on-prem, in edge data centers or in the cloud, Tuangru’s DCIM provides managers with a holistic view of their entire infrastructure for management and optimization. The company was recently recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in North America by Deloitte Technology Fast 500™. Tuangru is also a contributor member of The Green Grid. For more information, please visit www.tuangru.com.