DCSO also embraces the trend for the modern data centre to become an integrated whole that extends beyond manufacturers’ current offerings and on to their ecosystem of complementary products. It’s a more intelligent approach that allows customers to make the most of every opportunity and develop their individual data centre systems to become the best they can possibly be. Advanced physical infrastructure solutions coupled with a simplified DCSO help optimise overall management of the data centre even further. For instance, intelligent power distribution units (PDUs) can provide visibility of the current state of power consumption within the rack, while environmental sensors attached to the front of each rack reveal temperature and humidity levels within the site.  

In this manner, the relationship between IT and the supporting infrastructure can be visualised, resulting in a much better understanding of the operational capabilities and limitations of the data centre site, including environmental status, power consumption and cooling infrastructure. As adopters gain the understanding of the relationship between IT and supporting infrastructure systems, it enables operators and managers to make better informed decisions on how to optimise and further develop their data centres.

While virtualisation and cloud orchestration can make it easier to decouple IT loads from the underlying infrastructure, the DCSO platform must still be able to integrate with power management software capable of automating processes to protect the load in the event of a power or environmental event. This key software-defined power feature isn’t available in all offerings but is essential in order to thwart the overwhelming costs of downtime. When the data centre team is performing under the time pressure of a power event, this capability is essential to automate disaster prevention and recovery policies and remove the potential for manual error. Leading solutions are also offering advanced placement mechanisms that can dynamically move the IT load in order to remedy and optimise cooling costs.

One such solution is Eaton’s Visual Capacity Optimisation Manager (VCOM), an intuitive remote monitoring and management software that provides business intelligence from both IT and facilities power infrastructure. Designed to reduce data centre operational expenses, improve system and application reliability and mitigate risk through data analysis, the platform provides data centre managers the unique ability to easily track usage, utilisation, capacity limits and more. Through insights and control features that save time and money while reducing risk, VCOM enables data centre professionals to react quickly to potential concerns. In addition, the singular, intuitive platform does not incorporate any costly add-on modules, reducing total cost of ownership and enhancing ROI. 

DCSO solutions extend throughout the organisation and earn the data centre fresh recognition as a focal point for organisational intelligence and enhanced competitive advantage. This not only helps with proper management of day-to-day functions, it also enables operators to plan change, anticipate challenges and make intelligent decisions that ensure business continuity and optimise the IT equipment lifespan.

Providing the holistic and integrated information that managers need to truly see their data centre and help them perform their role more effectively, DCSO solutions can help IT professionals decide on changes and calculate the resulting cost savings and increase in efficiencies. In addition, the trend toward virtual and cloud architecture in data centres of all sizes adds further complexity with respect to managing power and environmental events that occur all too often.

By coordinating physical infrastructure – including power, environmental conditions and space capacity – with an operational monitoring layer that is placed within the context of a virtual/cloud layer, the DCSO system gives the data centre manager the intelligence required to plan and optimise every aspect of operations for availability, agility and energy efficiency.