Event Recap
RECAP | ROUNDTABLE | Making DCIM Work for You
DCIM is of strategic interest to most data center operators and the number of successful implementations continue to grow, according to participants in Uptime Institute’s January 14th, 2019 roundtable.
With most roundtable participants having successfully implemented DCIM in multi-facility operations, the session was filled with lessons learned for those who have not yet fully deployed systems. Uptime Institute VP of Research Rhonda Ascierto added her industry-wide perspective based on numerous client engagements.
Most participants agree that the time and effort required to deploy DCIM was greater than they had initially expected and typically exceeded 18 months for basic features, with more advanced features taking longer.
These conversations led Rhonda to note that organizations seeking to deploy DCIM should establish a methodology and be realistic about resources. Challenges around establishing and maintaining the accuracy of DCIM asset databases, which are required to use DCIM for asset management and are also critical to other functionality, was also discussed.
Participants agreed that products that lacked customizable fields, including for assets databases, were especially hard to configure. Converting data to standardized formats was another highlighted challenge. They also noted that good communication was essential to realizing the full benefits of DCIM, with one organization noting that it had to re-do its initial implementation to incorporate functions requested/required by other departments.
Although most of the conversation focused on deployment, the participants also addressed procurement, operations, and even potential end of service, with Rhonda reviewing the difficulties that many organizations faced several years ago when migrating from Aperture, as an example.
With most roundtable participants having successfully implemented DCIM in multi-facility operations, the session was filled with lessons learned for those who have not yet fully deployed systems. Uptime Institute VP of Research Rhonda Ascierto added her industry-wide perspective based on numerous client engagements.
Most participants agree that the time and effort required to deploy DCIM was greater than they had initially expected and typically exceeded 18 months for basic features, with more advanced features taking longer.
These conversations led Rhonda to note that organizations seeking to deploy DCIM should establish a methodology and be realistic about resources. Challenges around establishing and maintaining the accuracy of DCIM asset databases, which are required to use DCIM for asset management and are also critical to other functionality, was also discussed.
Participants agreed that products that lacked customizable fields, including for assets databases, were especially hard to configure. Converting data to standardized formats was another highlighted challenge. They also noted that good communication was essential to realizing the full benefits of DCIM, with one organization noting that it had to re-do its initial implementation to incorporate functions requested/required by other departments.
Although most of the conversation focused on deployment, the participants also addressed procurement, operations, and even potential end of service, with Rhonda reviewing the difficulties that many organizations faced several years ago when migrating from Aperture, as an example.
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