Case Studies

Data centre management

by Mark Rowe

Atos, an IT services company, has four data centres around the UK. It decided on a data centre infrastructure management (DCIM) solution across a key location to deliver a single, consolidated view of all that data centre’s IT and facilities operations from one workstation.

Atos UK Data Centre Strategy Manager Brian Parrott says: “We had a variety of different asset management tools, products and spreadsheets and we needed a tool that could pull them together in the right place to help us to make timely, accurate decisions.”

Atos wanted to improve its asset management with better reporting of capacity and the ability to do “what if” modelling of infrastructure, to enable better use of data and reduced risk of downtime. To increase overall energy efficiency and reduce utility costs for its customers, Atos required detailed, rack-specific power consumption data with real time temperature monitoring and heat map visualisation. Atos brought in Datacenter Clarity LC, software from Siemens, at its first data centre in Livingston, Scotland.

The intuitive DCIM interface processes information from vital sub-systems that traditionally operate in silos, into what the developers call a single solution that monitors energy and building management, physical security, fire safety, power and communications, racks, servers and data storage systems, as well as switches and routers.

The Datacenter Clarity LC system enables collaboration between IT and facilities processes, allowing both parties to track and manage assets and workflows. Unlike, the developers claim, other DCIM solutions, the latest Datacenter Clarity LC technology combines a complete DC suite including a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) module. The software delivers real-time energy management at rack level due to its ability to harness CFD analysis, with real-time environmental monitoring to deliver a set of capabilities for cooling management, delivering detailed power usage information via dashboard and regular reporting. With a better view of its energy consumption, Atos can increase efficiency and reduce energy costs for customers.

Atos can provide more accurate and auditable invoices for its customers. Datacenter Clarity LC generates more than seven million power readings a month, increasing billing transparency and customer trust. Besides real-time environmental monitoring, the software provides predictive capabilities in a virtual 3D data centre model, which offers Atos engineers an intuitive interface to view assets, helping to identify risk to uptime. Using the 3D modelling, Atos has a more efficient and effective way to conduct change management and ensure its assets can support customer needs for capacity.

Atos can access Datacenter Clarity LC from any Atos workstation around the world. Datacenter Clarity LC has had a positive economic impact for Atos, resulting in a reduction in downtime, increased energy efficiency and improved customer relations. The system is generating more accurate billing reports for its customers. Past billing was determined by one monthly reading for the site; current invoices are informed by real-time monitoring at the rack-level, generating millions of data points and providing greater transparency.

Brian says: “Our team now has one clear view of the data centre,. They can see everything from mechanical and electrical infrastructure to IT assets, all on one screen. Having a single view is essential when taking the pulse to really understand the health of your data centre.”

With more real-time monitoring of assets and power consumption, Atos expects that Datacenter Clarity LC will support its company-wide efforts to approve Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). “As we improve PUE, our power consumption comes down,” says Brian, “and that is a saving that is passed directly onto our customers.” Atos intends to rollout Datacenter Clarity LC to other UK and European customers.

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