• About Us
  • Partnership Opportunities
  • Privacy Policy

Data Center Frontier

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing.

  • Cloud
    • Hyperscale
  • Colo
    • Site Selection
    • Interconnection
  • Energy
    • Sustainability
  • Cooling
  • Technology
    • Internet of Things
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Edge Computing
    • Virtual Reality
    • Autonomous Cars
    • 5G Wireless
    • Satellites
  • Design
    • Servers
    • Storage
    • Network
  • Voices
  • Podcast
  • White Papers
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
    • Events
    • Newsletter
    • Companies
    • Data Center 101
  • Jobs
You are here: Home / Voices of the Industry / How to Simplify Distributed IT Management? Focus on the Tools to Improve Flexibility and Efficiency

How to Simplify Distributed IT Management? Focus on the Tools to Improve Flexibility and Efficiency

By Voices of the Industry - January 6, 2021

How to Simplify Distributed IT Management? Focus on the Tools to Improve Flexibility and Efficiency

Enterprises today are increasingly demanding always-on availability, predictive maintenance capabilities, data security and enhanced standardization from their IT infrastructure to improve flexibility, reduce complexity and enhance scalability. (Photo: Schneider Electric)

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Russell Senesac, Director of Data Center Strategy at Schneider Electric, explores  how to address distributed IT management. 

data management

Russell Senesac, Director of Data Center Strategy at Schneider Electric

Today’s businesses depend on data to inform strategies, improve processes and better interact with their customers. But as businesses rely on an increasing amount of data to drive digital initiatives forward, they are also tasked with processing, analyzing and storing this data to meet both operational and customer needs. According to IHS Markit, the focus on digitization and IoT will lead to an estimated 125 billion connected devices by 2030. Within the same time period, global data transmissions are expected to increase from 20-25% annually to 50% per year on average.

The ability for organizations to generate, analyze and successfully use this data will dictate their competitive advantage—and their ability to innovate—in a connected world. Given our dramatic shift to digital business, data centers have emerged as the backbone to our digital lives. In fact, today’s data centers are tasked with supporting the processing, transport, storage and security needs of an increasing amount of data. Different applications have different requirements including storage, performance and latency. For this reason, IT teams are no longer relying on traditional IT environments, but a diverse hybrid IT environment inclusive of cloud and large on-prem as well as distributed edge data centers. What does this shift mean for data center operations teams?

The Evolution of Hybrid IT Demands New Tools to Improve Flexibility, Scalability and Efficiency

Enterprises today are increasingly demanding always-on availability, predictive maintenance capabilities, data security and enhanced standardization from their IT infrastructure to improve flexibility, reduce complexity and enhance scalability. As a result, we’re starting to see a shift in where compute and storage lies in relation to where data is actually being generated and consumed. Approximately 10% of enterprise-generated data is created and processed outside a centralized data center or cloud today, but Gartner predicts this figure will reach 75% by 2025.

Traditional, centralized compute is shifting towards the local edge, which is revolutionizing how businesses can manage their critical IT environments. The same data center infrastructure management (DCIM) that we’ve relied on for on-premise IT operations is no longer suitable for today’s hybrid, edge and on-demand data centers. Organizations need to be able to meet current and future demands of their complex and diverse data center environments to truly drive business forward.

To keep up with rising demands from customers, enterprises need to be able to manage their distributed IT infrastructure with greater flexibility and ease. As edge computing explodes, and the number of assets and sites increases, businesses must take a hard look at how they’re monitoring and managing their infrastructure to ensure optimal performance, responsiveness and proactive maintenance.

The ability for organizations to generate, analyze and successfully use this data will dictate their competitive advantage—and their ability to innovate—in a connected world.

Key Considerations to Ensuring Always-on Availability

While traditional DCIM tools have been relied upon for years, they can be too complex to maintain and aren’t intuitive enough to provide operations teams with the right level of insight. Instead, next-gen DCIM tools that offer edge and distributed IT monitoring and services can solve key pain points such as downtime prevention, remote monitoring and the management of distributed equipment and sites. With the right monitoring tools in place, enterprises will be better equipped to handle the needs of today’s complex edge and hybrid IT environments. But when investing in such capabilities, here are a few key considerations operations team should keep in mind:

  • Predictive analytics must be paramount: Data center management has become simplified through the use of software, hardware and sensors to monitor critical systems from a central dashboard in real time. But often, operators can become overwhelmed by the sheer number of alerts being fed into their system. Instead, operators should look to invest in tools that utilize analytics to troubleshoot critical alarms and even predict when issues might occur so they can deploy better remediation tactics to prevent costly downtime.
  • Remote monitoring is essential for managing distributed sites: IT teams now need to manage critical infrastructure on-premise, in the cloud and at the edge. Now that data resides in multiple places, it’s imperative for teams to be able to monitor anytime, and from anywhere. Tools that rely on cloud connectivity to enable remote monitoring will help operations teams access critical data – no matter how remote it may be.
  • Partner with a provider with the right expertise: It’s important to prioritize where your teams should be spending their time. To keep up with demand and manage costs effectively, consider empowering your operations teams to spend their time and resources monitoring critical environments and relying on partners to troubleshoot and remediate issues when they do occur. By doing so, operators can focus on growing their core business, not maintaining or optimizing IT infrastructure.

Actionable intelligence has become critical for helping operators monitor, manage and maintain evolving IT portfolios – especially as it becomes more distributed and complex. By simplifying the management of edge computing sites, businesses will be able to improve how they’re managing their environments to avoid costly business interruptions and ensure always-on availability to power digital business.

Russell Senesac is the Director of Data Center Strategy at Schneider Electric.

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Tagged With: data management, Schneider Electric

Newsletters

Stay informed: Get our weekly updates!

Are you a new reader? Follow Data Center Frontier on Twitter or Facebook.
voices@richmiller.biz'

About Voices of the Industry

Our Voice of the Industry feature showcases guest articles on thought leadership from sponsors of Data Center Frontier. For more information, see our Voices of the Industry description and guidelines..

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Voices of the Industry

DAC Cables Shine in the Cloud

DAC Cables Shine in the Cloud Data centers with the fastest throughput and processing times have a digital advantage. Ryan Harris, Sales Engineer and Market Manager for The Siemon Company, explains why direct attach copper (DAC) cables are here to stay.

White Papers

UPS systems

High Efficiency Modes of Operation: Path Toward Highest Energy Efficiency Without Load Availability Trade-Off

The most common UPS topology currently used in the industry is double conversion; nevertheless, most UPS suppliers have introduced Eco Modes of operation to further increase the levels of efficiency of the UPS. Download the new paper from Vertiv, which analyzes potential drawbacks of Eco Mode types of operation, further highlights elements to consider when using these modes of operation, and gives a review of field results for technologies like the Liebert Trinergy Cube UPS and more. 

Get this PDF emailed to you.

We always respect your privacy and we never sell or rent our list to third parties. By downloading this White Paper you are agreeing to our terms of service. You can opt out at any time.

DCF Spotlight

Data center modules on display at the recent Edge Congress conference in Austin, Texas. (Photo: Rich Miller)

Edge Computing is Poised to Remake the Data Center Landscape

Data center leaders are investing in edge computing and edge solutions and actively looking at new ways to deploy edge capacity to support evolving business and user requirements.

An aerial view of major facilities in Data Center Alley in Ashburn, Virginia. (Image: Loudoun County)

Northern Virginia Data Center Market: The Focal Point for Cloud Growth

The Northern Virginia data center market is seeing a surge in supply and an even bigger surge in demand. Data Center Frontier explores trends, stats and future expectations for the No. 1 data center market in the country.

See More Spotlight Features

Newsletters

Get the Latest News from Data Center Frontier

Job Listings

RSS Job Openings | Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting

  • Critical Power Energy Manager - Data Center Development - Ashburn, VA
  • Data Center Facility Operations Director - Carrollton, TX
  • Site Development Manager - Data Center - Ashburn, VA
  • Data Center Facility Operations Director - Chicago, IL
  • Electrical Engineer - Senior - Dallas, TX

See More Jobs

Data Center 101

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Open Spectrum, brings our readers a series that provides an introductory guidebook to the ins and outs of the data center and colocation industry. Think power systems, cooling, solutions, data center contracts and more. The Data Center 101 Special Report series is directed to those new to the industry, or those of our readers who need to brush up on the basics.

  • Data Center Power
  • Data Center Cooling
  • Strategies for Data Center Location
  • Data Center Pricing Negotiating
  • Cloud Computing

See More Data center 101 Topics

About Us

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing. We write about what’s next for the Internet, and the innovations that will take us there. We tell the story of the digital economy through the data center facilities that power cloud computing and the people who build them. Read more ...
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Our Founder

Data Center Frontier is edited by Rich Miller, the data center industry’s most experienced journalist. For more than 20 years, Rich has profiled the key role played by data centers in the Internet revolution. Meet the DCF team.

TOPICS

  • 5G Wireless
  • Cloud
  • Colo
  • Connected Cars
  • Cooling
  • Cornerstone
  • Coronavirus
  • Design
  • Edge Computing
  • Energy
  • Executive Roundtable
  • Featured
  • Finance
  • Hyperscale
  • Interconnection
  • Internet of Things
  • Machine Learning
  • Network
  • Podcast
  • Servers
  • Site Selection
  • Social Business
  • Special Reports
  • Storage
  • Sustainability
  • Videos
  • Virtual Reality
  • Voices of the Industry
  • Webinar
  • White Paper

Copyright Data Center Frontier LLC © 2022

X - Close Ad