DCIM past and present: what’s changed?

Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software is an important class of software that, despite some false starts, many operators regard as essential to running modern, flexible and efficient data centers. It has had a difficult history — many suppliers have struggled to meet customer requirements and adoption remains patchy. Critics argue that, because of the complexity of data center operations, DCIM software often requires expensive customization and feature development for which many operators have neither the expertise nor the budget.

This is the first of a series of reports by Uptime Intelligence exploring data center management software in 2024 — two decades or more after the first commercial products were introduced. Data center management software is a wider category than DCIM: many products are point solutions; some extend beyond a single site and others have control functions. Uptime Intelligence is referring to this category as data center management and control (DCM-C) software.