Talk:Data center infrastructure management/draft

What is DCIM
Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) is a new category of solutions which were created to extend the traditional data center management function to include the physical layer.

Critical Analysis
The existing DCIM solutions touch upon both IT and Facilities and depending upon the vendor's heritage, may have a bias towards either 1) IT asset lifecycle management or 2) facilities monitoring and access. It is likely that for an extended period of time, the DCIM offerings will continue to have their core strength in one discipline or the other, but not equally addressing both. All of the major analyst firms are now covering the DCIM product category, with notable contributions by Gartner research, Forrester and The 451 Group. In the forth quarter of 2014, Gartner released their first ever Magic Quadrant and Critical Capabilities reports which are the first tangible approach to a quantitative comparison of the values each vendor has to offer. The Magic Quadrant focused on 17 vendors, while the Critical Capabilities report examined just 7 of thosethat they considered broad enough to compare.

Triggers for DCIM acquisition
Here we will identify the business triggers for DCIM. Things like consolidations and migrations, risk-reduction, etc

Key Elements or Capabilities
Here we will identify the technology/capabilities for DCIM. Things like capacity planning, real-time power monitoring, etc

Success Factors
The benefits story. What will we be able to do after deploying DCIM successfully.

Related Technologies
Assorted other systems. BAS/BMS, CMDB, Change Management, Power Management, Discovery, Sensors

Futures Expected
Let's round out the story with discussion about orchestration, automation, etc