2014 Data Center 100: 20 Data Center Tools Providers
Tools: Making The Data Center Work
Getting the hardware and software infrastructure of the data center ready is the first step, and often the easy step, in preparing an efficient data center. The next step is to bring in the tools that will make data centers run as efficiently as possible while being able to serve multiple internal and external customers.
Some tools monitor data center functions to ensure cooling, power consumption, and other operations are in line with expectations. Other tools warn of potential problems and may offer recommendations to fix those problems or, increasingly, automatically make the required fixes. Many of these tools fall in the category of data center infrastructure management, commonly referred to as DCIM. Here we present 20 data center tools providers from the 2014 Data Center 100.
1E
New York
CEO: Sumir Karayi
1E helps improve data center operations with technology to identify and eliminate unused IT equipment and software licenses. Its solutions help measure, monitor and increase server efficiency; manage PC power use; and reclaim and recycle software licenses.
BMC Software
Houston
CEO: Robert Beauchamp
BMC's Business Service Management platform aims to simplify and automate IT processes, business services and applications across cloud, virtual, distributed and mainframe data center environments. The company last year went private in a $6.9 billion deal to refocus on developing new innovations.
CA Technologies
Islandia, N.Y.
CEO: Michael Gregoire
CA develops IT management software and solutions for customers across mainframe and physical to virtual and cloud environments, including solutions for transforming data operations into cloud offerings and for improving performance and energy efficiency.
CommScope/iTRACS
Hickory, N.C.
CEO: Marvin Edwards
CommScope, which in 2013 went public again via a new IPO, has become a major data center business player in part with acquisitions last year of DCIM developer iTRACS and data center LED lighting and sensor network developer Redwood Systems.
Dell Quest
Round Rock, Texas
CEO: Michael Dell
Software from Quest, now the foundation of Dell Software, includes tools for monitoring and managing ERP and Web-based applications, for database development and administration, for extending Microsoft infrastructures, and for virtualization and cloud management.
eG Innovations
Iselin, N.J.
CEO: Srinivas Ramanathan
eG Innovations develops intelligent performance management solutions to help simplify and accelerate the discovery, diagnosis and resolution of service performance issues in virtual, cloud and physical service infrastructures across Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop and VMware environments.
FieldView Solutions
Edison, N.J.
CEO: Fred Dirla
FieldView's DCIM platform helps increase data center energy and space efficiency. The new FieldView 6.0, introduced in 2013, cut the need for custom integration with other applications by providing new historical and live data streams that integrate with most applications.
Geist
Lincoln, Neb.
President: Matt Lane
Geist manufactures intelligent hardware and software for data center management, including power, cooling, monitoring and management. The company's solutions include designing efficient cooling systems, end-to-end DCIM integration, and manufacturing of custom power strips.
Kaseya/Zyrion
Waltham, Mass.
CEO: Yogesh Gupta
Zyrion, a software vendor specializing in cloud and IT service monitoring, was acquired in 2013 by Kaseya. The acquisition lets Kaseya combine its systems management software with Zyrion's Traverse monitoring software to cover both public and private clouds.
Modius
San Francisco
CEO: Craig Compiano
Modius provides DCIM software for optimizing the infrastructure and operations of critical facilities. Its flagship Modius OpenData application comes in three flavors supporting a server closet, a single data center, and a multiple data center architecture.
Nlyte Software
San Mateo, Calif.
CEO: Doug Sabella
The Nlyte 7 DCIM software suite from Nlyte improves data center efficiency by optimizing its power, cooling and space resource utilization. A new SaaS version of the suite, Nlyte On-Demand, now allows partners to provide DCIM as a service.
Onset Computer
Bourne, Mass.
President: Justin Testa
Onset Computer is one of the world's leading data logger suppliers. Its flagship line of battery-powered "HOBO" data logger products measure and record temperature, humidity, light, energy, and a variety of other parameters to help increase data center efficiency.
Panduit
Tinley Park, Ill.
CEO: John Caveney
The Unified Physical Infrastructure (UPI) solutions from Panduit integrate what are typically disparate and segregated systems such as communications, computing, control, power and security into a single unified infrastructure and address power, space and thermal management needs across a company.
Rackwise
Folsom, Calif.
CEO: Guy Archbold
Rackwise's DCiM X Solutions is a DCIM offering to help clients optimize and improve the management of data center components such as power, cooling, space, servers, networks and cables and to give them a cost analysis of their IT infrastructures.
Raritan
Somerset, N.J.
CEO: Ching-I Hsu
Raritan helps IT and facility managers improve data center efficiency with power management, infrastructure management, KVM and serial solutions, including intelligent rack PDUs, energy management software, DCIM software, and KVM-over-IP and Serial-over-IP access products.
Sentilla
Redwood City, Calif.
CEO: Mike Kaul
Sentilla's software provides granular insight into physical and virtual IT systems and facilities equipment, including storage and network analytics for capacity analysis and forecasting. It provides plug-and-play capabilities with OpenStack and CloudStack, and with other cloud and virtualization platforms.
Server Technology
Reno, Nev.
CEO: Carrel Ewing
Rack-mount power distribution and monitoring solutions from Server Technology help customers manage power capacity and improve energy efficiency. The company last year pushed the power density envelope with a new 1U device featuring up to 42 C13 outlets.
SynapSense
Folsom, Calif.
CEO: Bart Tichelman
The SynapSense Wireless Monitoring and Cooling Control is a DCIM solution that takes advantage of wireless sensors combined with cooling optimization technology to help customers cut their data center cooling costs.
TSO Logic
Vancouver, B.C.
CEO: Aaron Rallo
TSO Logic targets data center power costs with a lightweight software solution that provides application-aware power management. The agentless, noninvasive software sits on a single server, and operates with no impact on data center performance.
Vigilent
Oakland, Calif.
CEO: Mark Housley
Vigilent's intelligent energy management systems for data centers were recently enhanced with a new active cooling capacity planning module for the Vigilent DCIM Toolkit that provides information, room by room or data center-wide, on available and stranded cooling capacity.