{"id":5698,"date":"2021-12-14T08:55:15","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T08:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/?p=5698"},"modified":"2022-03-22T19:01:50","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T19:01:50","slug":"tips-from-a-data-center-manager-dcim-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/tips-from-a-data-center-manager-dcim-software\/","title":{"rendered":"TIPS FROM A DATA CENTER MANAGER \u2013 DCIM Software"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

How to Pick the Right DCIM Software and Compare Costs<\/h3>\n

Written by Nate Josephs<\/h4>\n

Sr. Systems Engineer\/Data Center Manager<\/strong>
\nIn the previous Tips from a Data Center Manager blog, I discussed the benefits of DCIM by describing six valuable features<\/a> it provides.\u00a0 These features include: floor plans and rack views, real-time monitoring, \u201cwhat-if\u201d scenario creation, future capacity forecasting, integration with other tools, and online dashboards.\u00a0 Unfortunately, organizations often become paralyzed trying to choose the right DCIM software and become confused trying to compare costs. \u00a0The following is the second in a series of three DCIM articles that identifies challenges in selecting DCIM and how to overcome those challenges.<\/p>\n

With multiple DCIM products in the market, sifting through features of each DCIM product in order to find the right DCIM tool for an organization can be daunting.\u00a0 Each DCIM software company describes their features differently and with varying amounts of detail.\u00a0 They also use different terminology for similar concepts.\u00a0 For instance, one DCIM vendor may use the term \u201cGnomes\u201d when discussing IT device databases while another uses the term \u201cassets\u201d. This results in ambiguity and more questions for potential DCIM customers trying to confirm if a product is right for them.<\/p>\n

Creating a weighted-score matrix solves the challenge of comparing DCIM products.\u00a0 This matrix is created by listing all features needed using consistent terminology<\/em> and numerically ranking each feature by level of importance.\u00a0 More points are given to the most important features and less points to least important ones.\u00a0 Let\u2019s call this the \u201cimportance ranking\u201d<\/strong>. \u00a0A second set of points are assigned when evaluating how well each DCIM software addresses the desired features. Let\u2019s call this the \u201cDCIM evaluation score\u201d<\/strong>. \u00a0By multiplying the importance ranking by DCIM evaluation score, a weighted score is created for each feature for each DCIM product evaluated.\u00a0 Each DCIM product\u2019s weighted scores are then totaled up.\u00a0 The product with the most points wins.<\/p>\n

Comparing costs between DCIM products can be confusing due to varying ways customers are billed.\u00a0 DCIM vendors may charge based on number of racks, square footage, number of licenses, or by quantity of devices uploaded.\u00a0 Difficulty in comparing costs is further compounded when trying to factor in implementation, customization, training and any additional hidden costs.\u00a0 For example, is training onsite, or offered remotely?\u00a0 If onsite, are the trainer\u2019s travel costs already included upfront, or will these costs be extra?<\/p>\n

Creating a DCIM implementation plan makes comparing DCIM costs possible. This plan should include details on how many racks, number of data centers, what will be tracked, number of DCIM users, how many reports are needed, number of IT devices, quantity of monitoring points, level of technical support desired, how users will be trained, etc.\u00a0 Comparing each DCIM software\u2019s cost based on these details will reveal tota<\/em>l cost of ownership that encompasses all hardware and software, technical support, and future upgrades necessary to support the implementation plan.\u00a0 The DCIM implementation plan and cost comparison must have timeframes.\u00a0 For example, one data center will be loaded into DCIM initially and two more data centers will be added after a year.\u00a0 DCIM vendors can provide an accurate cost breakdown of their software based on a solid DCIM implementation plan.<\/p>\n

Choosing the right software and comparing DCIM costs can be overwhelming.\u00a0 By creating a DCIM features weighted-score matrix and a DCIM implementation plan, prospective DCIM customers can confidently choose the right DCIM solution and clearly understand its total cost of ownership.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Be sure to check back here soon for the next installment in our series of Valuable features offered by DCIM.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How to Pick the Right DCIM Software and Compare Costs Written by Nate Josephs Sr. Systems Engineer\/Data Center Manager In the previous Tips from a Data Center Manager blog, I discussed the benefits of DCIM by describing six valuable features it provides.\u00a0 These features include: floor plans and rack views, real-time monitoring, \u201cwhat-if\u201d scenario creation, future capacity forecasting, integration with other tools, and online dashboards.\u00a0 Unfortunately, organizations often become paralyzed trying to choose the right DCIM software and become confused trying to compare costs. \u00a0The following is the second in a series of three DCIM articles that identifies challenges in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":5705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nDCIM Software - 2NSystems Data Center Solutions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Second in a series of three DCIM Software articles that identifies challenges in selecting DCIM and how to overcome those challenges.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/tips-from-a-data-center-manager-dcim-software\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DCIM Software - 2NSystems Data Center Solutions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Second in a series of three DCIM Software articles that identifies challenges in selecting DCIM and how to overcome those challenges.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/tips-from-a-data-center-manager-dcim-software\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"2NSystems Data Center Solutions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/2NSystems\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-14T08:55:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-22T19:01:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/DCIM1-e1639417551146.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"606\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Celina\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Celina\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"DCIM Software - 2NSystems Data Center Solutions","description":"Second in a series of three DCIM Software articles that identifies challenges in selecting DCIM and how to overcome those challenges.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/tips-from-a-data-center-manager-dcim-software\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"DCIM Software - 2NSystems Data Center Solutions","og_description":"Second in a series of three DCIM Software articles that identifies challenges in selecting DCIM and how to overcome those challenges.","og_url":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/tips-from-a-data-center-manager-dcim-software\/","og_site_name":"2NSystems Data Center Solutions","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/2NSystems\/","article_published_time":"2021-12-14T08:55:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-03-22T19:01:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":606,"url":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/DCIM1-e1639417551146.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Celina","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Celina","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/tips-from-a-data-center-manager-dcim-software\/","url":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/tips-from-a-data-center-manager-dcim-software\/","name":"DCIM Software - 2NSystems Data Center Solutions","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-12-14T08:55:15+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-22T19:01:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1a1351c59db5cc0dc393eae2ecb1fe55"},"description":"Second in a series of three DCIM Software articles that identifies challenges in selecting DCIM and how to overcome those challenges.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/tips-from-a-data-center-manager-dcim-software\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/tips-from-a-data-center-manager-dcim-software\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/tips-from-a-data-center-manager-dcim-software\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TIPS FROM A DATA CENTER MANAGER \u2013 DCIM Software"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/","name":"2NSystems Data Center Solutions","description":"DESIGN YOUR DATA CENTER FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1a1351c59db5cc0dc393eae2ecb1fe55","name":"Celina","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0bd980c8ac786f3f4b80b1b0c43ab55?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0bd980c8ac786f3f4b80b1b0c43ab55?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Celina"},"url":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/author\/celina\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5698"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5698"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5918,"href":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5698\/revisions\/5918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2nsystems.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}