U Michigan Expands Data Center Management Across All University Systems

The University of Michigan (U-M) will expand its implementation of data center management software to all of its academic, research and medical systems.

U-M has been using data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software from Rackwise since 2009 and has implemented the solution in stages, most recently integrating the U-M Health System data centers in 2012. The university has now signed an agreement with Rackwise to expand its implementation of Rackwise DCIM X to manage all of the university's data centers, network closets and other non-data center IT assets, including workstations and cubicles.

The goal of this centralized approach to IT management is to improve overall IT operational efficiencies by improving visibility, assessment and management of IT-related assets and data center environmental information through a single interface. According to the company, this approach will improve the university's IT management productivity, including more meaningful capacity modeling.

"Complex computing ecosystems and IT infrastructures are required to support [the university's] extensive academic and research disciplines," said Guy A. Archbold, CEO of Rackwise, in a prepared statement. He went on to say that "advanced DCIM capabilities are essential so that data center managers and IT professionals can effectively plan and manage data centers and computing ecosystems to assure the highest level of reliability, discover hidden capacity and enable efficiencies to continually optimize IT operations and costs."

According to information on the company's site, Rackwise DCIM X supports centralized management of assets and energy, real-time monitoring, business analytics and intelligent capacity planning, and it can help save energy, provide insight into data center consolidation, and increase reliability through failure analysis.

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, MI. The university serves nearly 45,000 students and is home to 19 schools and colleges.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

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