Data centers have been subject to Executive Order Mandates for some time. And to no one’s surprise, the recent mandates are stiffer. Reduce your footprint. Conserve power. Be more efficient. The rallying cry is loud and industry wide. But the specifics of “how and when” are causing quite a stir among data center CIOs and CFOs. And for good reason.
Failure is Not an Option
The new Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) calls on federal data centers to reduce their overall footprint and reach a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.5 by September 2018. Centers that fall short of this benchmark risk being shut down and asked to move to a third-party data center that has a PUE of at least 1.4. Adding frugality to the mix, the Federal Information & Technology Acquisition and Reform Act (FITARA) will require CIOs to show an ROI on all monies appropriated for the DCOI mandate.
OGP Oversight Proffers Template
Rather than let data centers “walk into the propeller” of new rules and regulations they may not understand or address incorrectly, the Office of Government Wide Policy (OGP) offers some assistance. This comes in the form of a template, which can be filled out by using DCIM that guides centers on how to calculate PUE, where service utilizations are serviced, their overall power projection footprint, infrastructure, and other benchmarks. Still, data centers are left scratching their heads, wondering how to meet the new mandates.
Data Center Management that Exceeds Government Mandates
New tools are now available that provide unprecedented levels of monitoring and control. One such tool, RAMP DCIM offered by Tuangru, enables data center operators to improve operations, infrastructure planning, and design and far exceeds the perfunctory power/cooling analysis software currently found under the moniker of data center management. Consider the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), for example. It draws on a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring of cloud products and services. What data centers are asking themselves is: how can we efficiently automate the program?
Michael L. Ross, a data center management consultant who has over 10 years helping large data centers reduce their total cost of ownership notes that the right power management software can be a powerful cost-cutting tool for today’s data centers.
“Congress recognizes that federal data centers consume 8% of the total annual energy consumed by the federal government,” he said. “Optically this presents a problem in addressing the greenhouse effect. These mandates are put in to give federal CIO’s measurable target that results in reducing the carbon footprint that data centers are creating.”
Faster Integration Cuts Costs
Tuangru’s RAMP DCIM finally answers the speed-of-integration and cost-cutting issues facing today’s CIOs. Eschewing a cloud-based paradigm, its unique DCIM software monitors public cloud instances in as well as on-premises devices. This allows CIOs to finally get a quicker handle on their current cost, identify what workloads should move to the cloud that reduces operational cost and what energy savings project will result in lower power consumption.
Tuangru’s RAMP DCIM even helps isolate workload costs to make correct Cloud topology decisions. It also provides valuable “what if modeling” to help identify potential cost savings. The software’s auto-discovery feature reduces implementation time and cost, and it helps identify workloads and their costs faster. Data center operators can now create the best cloud infrastructure for varying workloads for added savings. And they now have a central repository for DCOI/FITRA reporting.
Khaled Assali, VP of product management at Tuangru, explains how RAMP DCIM’s advanced reporting suite finally gives data center operators the upper hand.
“More enterprises are adopting a hybrid IT infrastructure made up of both physical data centers and the public cloud. As a result, DCIM software tools need to adapt and provide actionable intelligence based on a holistic view. RAMP DCIM delivers that and more. Operators can now make an informed decision on how to distribute workloads on-premises and in the cloud based on cost, performance, energy efficiency and resilience.”
In today’s federal data centers, CIO’s are faced with never ending pressure from an array of government agencies to do more with less, reduce energy, and make data centers run more efficiently. CIO’s get it but until recently were hamstrung in implementing a solution that wouldn’t bust their budget. This is where RAMP shines. RAMP with its modeling capability and quick integration provides a cost-effective tool to meet these mandates.
About Jad Jebara
Jad Jebara is president and CEO of Tuangru, a next-generation data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software provider. He previously served as senior vice president of finance and administration at Peer 1 Hosting (now Cogeco Peer 1), a hosting service provider where he was responsible for finance, supply chain, and IT.
About Rajan Sodhi
Rajan Sodhi is CMO of Vancouver, Canada-based Tuangru, a next-generation data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software provider with tools that are as meaningful to the C-suite as they are to operators. Users get actionable intelligence that allows them to reduce IT cost, manage workloads and mitigate outages. Contact Mr. Sodhi at rajan.sodhi@tuangru.ca.
About Tuangru
Tuangru’s next generation data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software is designed for today’s hybrid IT environments. Whether workloads reside on-prem, in edge data centers or in the cloud, Tuangru’s DCIM provides managers with a holistic view of their entire infrastructure for management and optimization. The company was recently recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in North America by Deloitte Technology Fast 500™. Tuangru is also a contributor member of The Green Grid. For more information, please visit www.tuangru.com.