Where do businesses store their critical technology, manage network operations, and safeguard valuable company data? The answer lies in data centers—dedicated spaces designed to house computer systems and essential equipment.
However, managing a data center comes with its own set of challenges. It’s not just about storing servers; it involves the intricate task of overseeing the infrastructure, ensuring power and cooling systems are running smoothly, and monitoring security to protect sensitive information.
This is where Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software plays a crucial role. By efficiently overseeing everything from physical infrastructure to network operations, businesses can ensure continuous, reliable service.
Data center management encompasses a wealth of activities, processes, and services that a data center manager completes to maintain efficient operations. This includes keeping systems running smoothly, ensuring security, and making sure energy is used wisely.
As businesses grow and rely more on digital resources, effective management becomes even more crucial. Without it, operations may become inefficient, costly, or even vulnerable to security threats.
To discover how optimized data center management can benefit your business and what solutions are available to make the process easier, keep reading.
Data centers are the heart of business operations and activities. In addition to operational continuity, proper data center management is necessary for:
Operating a data center is a complex task that demands dedicated managers or operators. Their expertise is essential to achieve the outcomes listed above.
Effective data center management is crucial for maintaining smooth and reliable operations. It involves various components that ensure optimal performance, security, and efficiency.
Here are some key aspects of data center management:
Data center managers are the guardians of data centers. They perform hardware and software maintenance, arrange and organize equipment, and proactively fight against events that hinder data center operations.
Here are some examples of a data center manager’s responsibilities:
Data center managers and businesses should familiarize themselves with recent trends in data center management to prepare for and mitigate them.
One significant challenge for data center operators and managers is ensuring stakeholders have access to necessary information while operating the facility efficiently. The rise of new generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies adds to this complexity.
According to the Data Centers 2024 Global Outlook, “Generative AI requires more densely clustered and performance-intensive IT infrastructure than the framework found in standard data centers, producing much more heat. The power consumed by generative AI workloads fluctuates more than traditional IT workloads, creating challenges in optimizing a facility’s overall efficiency.”
Data center professionals must adjust their oversight capabilities to accommodate emerging technologies as they strive to balance delivery and efficiency.
Since data centers contain valuable information, they’re a hot target for cybercriminals. According to Samsung, top data center security concerns in 2024 include ransomware, social engineering attacks, artificial intelligence-powered threats, and vulnerabilities due to staff shortages. Protecting data centers from security threats is a significant responsibility, especially when they constantly change and evolve.
Power is critical to the success of data centers and the equipment they contain. According to CBRE (Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis), an American commercial real estate services and investment firm, a worldwide power shortage is impacting data centers and the growing data center market. In a recent analysis, CBRE shared, “Large corporations face increasing difficulty securing data center capacity. Low supply, construction delays, and power challenges are impacting all markets.”
With these ongoing concerns, it’s never been more critical for data center operators to make the most of their current availability. Doing so requires achieving energy efficiencies and designing optimal data center layouts for scalability.
Effective data center management ensures reliable, optimum, and secure performance. The following best practices can help organizations achieve their desired results.
Monitoring all data center components, including servers, network equipment, storage devices, power, cooling systems, and security mechanisms, is the best way to identify issues before they arise. While many elements are involved in data center monitoring, a data center infrastructure management (DCIM) tool can simplify the tracking process.
In addition to ongoing monitoring, it’s important to schedule regular maintenance checks to make certain equipment operations are efficient and up to standard. Through these checks, data center operators and IT professionals can make data-driven decisions about new equipment, resource allocation, and security processes.
Adopting cooling systems, such as hot and cold aisle containment, will help keep your environment suitable for performance. This containment involves placing server racks in alternating rows to manage airflow while conserving energy.
Free cooling, or lowering the data center temperature using naturally cool air or water, can manage your data center environment economically. The right conditions will help you protect your resources for the long haul.
Enforce strict access control policies for your data center facility to prevent unauthorized access. Surveillance systems and motion detection software can help you protect the perimeter of your data center. Prepare your organization for the worst-case scenario and create regular backups and a discovery plan to refer to during a security breach.
Enterprises and trained data center professionals use DCIM software to simplify data center management. These tools provide functionality for managing assets, monitoring performance, and conducting hardware maintenance. DCIM technology also assists with data documentation for the data center.
To qualify for inclusion in the DCIM category, a product must:
* Below are the top five leading DCIM platforms from G2’s Winter 2024 Grid® Report. Some reviews may be edited for clarity.
OpManager by ManageEngine delivers reliable networking software for visibility into the performance of routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, servers, and storage devices. It helps data center managers and professionals stay on top of network performance to address and resolve any rising issues.
“The ability to isolate traffic down to the workstation is amazing. Watching packet analysis of routers, instant uptime viewing of all networks, and drilling down to find out where problems lie easily automates 80% of our work.”
- OpManager Review, Shaun G.
“The fact that the product is so comprehensive is possibly one of its downfalls. It feels like pieces have been bolted on over the years, and finding your way around the settings can sometimes be frustrating.”
- OpManager Review, Stephen F.
Microsoft System Center is a suite of management tools designed to help organizations manage their IT infrastructure. It provides solutions for monitoring, automating, and optimizing various aspects of data centers, including servers, applications, and networks. Key components include System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) for software deployment and system management and System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) for monitoring and reporting. These tools enable IT teams to maintain control, improve performance, and enhance security across their infrastructure.
"Microsoft System Center solutions are user-friendly and easy to manage. They allow for hardware and software inventory, creation of collections, and deployment of security patches/updates and software. A key feature is infrastructure monitoring, which helps track the health and performance of systems. Additionally, managing virtual machines (VMs) is made easier, providing comprehensive control over IT resources."
- Microsoft System Center Review, Fazal Ur Rehman S.
"Sometimes, the Word document becomes unresponsive, and there are frequent errors while working. Additionally, the storage system seems unreliable, making it vulnerable to potential hacking. This requires extra attention to ensure security. The Outlook system also isn't functioning properly. I face numerous challenges running Word alongside Notepad to save documents securely, especially to protect them from being accessed by other family members."
- Microsoft System Center Review, Pranita D.
Nlyte's DCIM software automates data center management, including assets, resources, processes, and people involved in the infrastructure. It offers complete visibility into all assets, equipping data center managers and IT teams to monitor energy usage and overall performance. Additionally, Nlyte helps with data center design planning by determining the optimum placement for new hardware.
“The Nlyte system covers all the data center operation issues I deal with, is very flexible in its customization, and meets most requirements. Nlyte is open to suggesting new functionalities and has accepted many of my proposals for future implementation. The second very positive thing is the helpdesk, which gets very involved in helping users solve configuration problems or explain how to use the Nlyte system correctly.”
- Nlyte Review, Zenon R.
“Some features are a little off the industry standard. It would be easier for all our end users to understand if we used industry standards for all measurements and data fields. Custom fields are available but severely impact report performance, so consider that when moving to Nlyte. Know their data fields and know yours. If they do not match and custom fields are needed, evaluate their importance in reports.”
- Nlyte Review, James G.
IBM Turbonomic helps organizations optimize the cost and performance of their IT infrastructure. By automating optimizations in real-time, IBM Turbonomic proactively delivers the most efficient storage and network resources, reducing costs by utilizing only the resources necessary for operations.
“Turbonomic ensures that our clusters are intelligently balanced and that virtual machines and containers are correctly allocated resources. Once integrated with our APM tool, it adds to the environment's analysis.”
- IBM Turbonomic Review, Emerson F.
“IBM Turbonomic is costlier compared to our options available in the market. They provide so many options which may be unnecessary for every user. The software can be customized more specifically to meet customers' needs.”
- IBM Turbonomic Review, Sanfiya P.
Faddom is a data management system that offers comprehensive discovery and visualization of IT infrastructure. It helps organizations gain deep insights into their entire environment by mapping out applications, networks, and dependencies across physical, virtual, and cloud systems.
"Faddom provides automated sensor discovery, fast support, and seamless vendor integration. It offers robust reporting, integrates with monitoring systems, and delivers broad visibility across the infrastructure. It also helps identify and correct discrepancies in production environments, optimizing operations."
- Faddom Review, Esteban R.
"One drawback of Faddom is that its pricing may not be suitable for smaller organizations or those with limited budgets. Additionally, new users may encounter a learning curve when first getting started. Expanding support for additional third-party integrations could enhance its functionality and make it more appealing to a broader range of users."
- Faddom Review, Marian S.
Data center management doesn’t have to be complex and time-consuming. So long as well-trained data center managers stay on top of recent trends, follow best practices, and monitor and gather data points, your data center will thrive and support business operations.
Do you need some help designing your data center? Develop a well-planned design to support your business operations.
An organization’s data, applications, and technology resources reside in a data center—an...
by Alyssa Towns
Your organization relies on a lot of tools and assets to hit its goals.
by Mara Calvello
You get the flu and head to a nearby urgent care as your fever skyrockets. When you arrive at...
by Alyssa Towns