Don’t Buy DCIM Software That’s Like a Home Printer
By Fred Koh - May 23, 2023We all know the drill: you buy a home printer and before you know it, you’re locked into buying the vendor’s pricey ink for the lifespan of the printer. The printer vendor gives you only one cartridge type as an option and it’s sold at a ridiculous markup. Is there a workaround? Well, sure: you…
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Streamline IT Asset Management (ITAM): How DCIM Software Helps
By Fred Koh - April 20, 2023Introduction: What is IT asset management (ITAM) and why you need it IT asset management (ITAM) is important because it assists organizations in managing their IT assets throughout their entire life cycle, including acquisition, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning. This ensures efficient resource allocation and effective utilization of assets. If you have headaches related to efficiency,…
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Beam Me Up, Scotty: Migrating to a New DCIM Solution
By Fred Koh - April 3, 2023Are you lost in space: stuck with an outdated DCIM system, and feeling like you’re aboard a malfunctioning starship? Perhaps you’re dealing with high costs, limited features, poor customer service, or your DCIM vendor has been acquired or discontinued support (or, maybe even worse, you’ve received no communications from your vendor in a long time…
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Reducing Data Center Carbon Footprint with DCIM & PUE – A Comprehensive Guide
By Fred Koh - March 23, 2023Did you know that data centers account for a whopping 2% of all global carbon emissions? Here in the US alone, 0.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to data centers. That’s more than the emissions of the airline industry! Data centers are one of the largest consumers of electricity worldwide, with all the…
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Upgrading IT Documentation/Visualization Software Shouldn’t Be Hard
By Fred Koh - March 8, 2023IT visualization and documentation software is essential for successful troubleshooting, capacity planning, cost control, and security, among other things. To keep up with today’s rapidly changing technology landscape, it’s crucial to keep your IT visualization and documentation software up-to-date with the latest vendor version. However, upgrading can be a daunting task, if your vendor does…
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Industry Spotlight: DCIM for Healthcare & Hospitals
By Fred Koh - February 20, 2023As a data center manager in healthcare, you certainly face unique IT challenges that require specialized solutions — hats off to you! From regulatory compliance to uptime and critical patient data, the stakes are high. Not to mention the explosion in reliance upon technology that the recent pandemic helped bring about — from telehealth to…
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Buyer, Beware: DCIM Pricing Add-Ons
By Fred Koh - November 10, 2022Do you need data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software? Before you select a vendor and solution, proceed with caution: when it comes to what you need and the pricing structure you agree to, make sure your i’s are dotted. Why? DCIM software is priced differently…depending on the vendor. Afterall, most software vendors are motivated to…
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Should You Buy Perpetual DCIM or Subscription DCIM?
By Fred Koh - November 2, 2022Do you need data center infrastructure management software (DCIM) to solve headaches in your data center? If so, read this. We make netTerrain — a data center and network documentation platform that documents everything from your data center rooms, rack capacity, assets, cable connections, and managing power — and we offer both annual subscription and…
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Need Data Center Diagrams? How to Start
By Fred Koh - October 28, 2022If you’re reading this, you probably need data center diagrams. If that’s the case, any of the following could apply to you: You’re the new data center manager…maybe you’re the network guy or gal that manages the network equipment for your organization…perhaps your company recently acquired a new entity and you don’t have any documentation…
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DCIM vs. BMS
By Jan Durnhofer - September 30, 2022At Graphical Networks, one of our main focus points is helping our customers optimize their Data Center Operations with an efficient Data Center Infrastructure (DCIM) system. Now, a Data Center can also be considered a building and, as such, the building contains many elements outside of the usual purview of a DCIM solution; these elements…
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Buying DCIM Software 101
By Fred Koh - September 26, 2022Have you been tasked by your boss to look for Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software for your team? The reason could range from needing to replace free open source DCIM tools, migrate from an existing DCIM solution that’s not delivering ROI, or perhaps because you’ve finally outgrown your spreadsheets and Visio diagrams! and need…
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3 Big Reasons Rack Diagrams Help Organizations
By Jason Sherman - August 10, 2022Think you need some rack diagrams to help make sense of your data center — but need to make the case that an investment in them is worth it to the bean counters upstairs? Customers who use our software, netTerrain DCIM, have various reasons as to why they need rack diagrams and how they help…
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