There many DCIM software vendors out there, and for our prospective customers, it can be a difficult task to discern which vendor is the best choice. During the sales process, we are often asked, ‘what makes netTerrain DCIM stand out’?
Before I dive into the specifics, I’ll start with a little background info on our company. Graphical Networks makes the netTerrain software suite — and we have been in business since 2007. Before then, we all worked for a company called netViz (before the DCIM acronym even existed). In short, we have been in the business of IT visualization for decades: as a result, we understand how to make software that does what our customers really need it to.
Usability is Our Obsession
netTerrain is easy to use right from the bat. If you are familiar with Visio and netViz, you will already know how to use netTerrain! All of the diagrams, for example, are created through our catalog. Read through our customer reviews, or speak with our current customers, and you’ll notice a theme: netTerrain is easy to use, right out of the box. As usability (or the lack thereof) truly can tank many DCIM implementations, this is crucial to consider when choosing DCIM software.
Catalog Modeling Takes Seconds
In netTerrain, you can easily create your own models (or just contact support and we will have the model back to you in as soon as 24 hours)! For example, a hospital that gave their intern netTerrain and they created a data center rack diagrams quickly and with ease. The ability to easily model your own devices or have us model them for you (and quickly) can be transformative: instead of paying consultants, finding workarounds, or waiting on a vendor who takes weeks or months to get back to you, you can start implementing your project as soon as you are ready.
Cable Management is Easy
We have done countless demos and presentations: one of the complaints I often hear is the lack of port-to-port cabling in DCIM software. Look no further: netTerrain excels in cable management. As our background started with network documentation and the importance of detailed network diagrams, we’ve ensured that with netTerrain you can easily track all of your cabling from port to port, and even fiber strands. netTerrain’s circuit layout record allows you to easily create paths of your cabling with a click.
Example: Circuit Layout Record in netTerrain DCIM.
Integrations are Built-In
Will you need integrations? If you do, use caution when selecting a DCIM software vendor. If the DCIM software you choose doesn’t include integrations, or offer an open API, you could end up shelling out lots of unexpected dough to work with consultants (not to mention waiting to even begin implementing your project). Because we understand that many of our customers need to integrate with a variety of tools, we’ve designed netTerrain DCIM to easily facilitate integrations. With netTerrain Collector, we have created API connectors to many of the leading applications out there today: ServiceNow CA Spectrum, Solarwinds Orion NPM, AWS, Azure, and others. You can easily pull data from your data sources in netTerrain and it won’t take you 4-6 months to pull data and a team of consultants to get this done. netTerrain DCIM also has a SNMP network discovery in addition to the API connectors.
Customer Support is Second to None
Let’s face it: some companies offer robo-support, some companies provide mediocre support, and some companies hit it out of the park. At Graphical Networks, our customer support is second to none. You will not get a robo attendant or ask you for 6 different buttons to press. You will talk to our staff in Gaithersburg, Maryland. You can call us, email us, or use our customer support website to enter in tickets, product features, model requests.
Power Monitoring is an Option
Need to monitor power? netTerrain can do that. Discover more details about our power monitoring module here or our partnership with Future Facilities, the leading CFD application, 6 Sigma Room.
netTerrain DCIM Doesn’t Break the Bank
Our pricing sets us apart. netTerrain DCIM starts at $944 a year for a yearly license or $2,517 for a perpetual license with unlimited users, first year of software maintenance, and document up to 100 devices. It scales to well over 20,000 devices. You can start off with a smaller number of devices (netTerrain is priced by number of devices (physical chassis equipment, such as servers, routers, switches, patch panels, PDUs) and upgrade at any time.
Are there any limitations? Some people want 3D views for their DCIM solution. We don’t offer 3D views not because we can’t, but because we believe 3D views (in 99% of use cases) offer little value while eroding the core efficiency and flexibility of the software. I did write an article about why we don’t and will not have 3D views (you can read the article here). netTerrain DCIM does, however, offer a coupled rack view though: you can see the front and back view of the cabinet with the devices mounted.
A front and back view of a rack with coupled front/back mounting
Afterall, the term DCIM means Data Center Infrastructure Management. DCIM doesn’t involve password management or IPAM, but managing the equipment in the racks, its space capacity, its connections, and power management.
Bottom line? If usability is a concern and you want to avoid the dreaded and expensive ‘shelfware effect’, consider netTerrain DCIM as your DCIM solution of choice. We stand behind our product so much that we offer a 30-day money back guarantee (hey, who does that these days?).
Where to start? Take netTerrain out for a test drive. We offer a free,14 day online trial at www.www.netterrain.us. You can also check out some of our DCIM videos on our Youtube channel or if you’d like to talk to Sales for a demo,