What Is DCIM and Do You Need It?
DCIM collects data from power, cooling and IT assets and presents it in one place. Whether you need it depends on scale, complexity and what you want to do with the data.
What it does
- Monitors power, cooling and environmental data in real time.
- Tracks assets, rack space, power and cooling capacity.
- Supports capacity planning and what-if analysis.
- Reports efficiency metrics such as PUE. See PUE explained.
DCIM, BMS and EPMS
| System | Main job |
|---|---|
| BMS | Monitor and control building and cooling systems |
| EPMS | Monitor the electrical power system |
| DCIM | Combine data with asset and capacity information for planning |
Do you need it?
- List the decisions you need data for (capacity planning, efficiency reporting, change management).
- Check what your BMS and EPMS already provide.
- Consider scale: many racks, many tenants or frequent changes make DCIM more valuable.
- Plan the metering and integration in the electrical design early.
See the design guide.
Written by the Vision Matrix Institute editorial team. Worked examples use stated, illustrative assumptions; check them against your project data, the applicable standards and manufacturer datasheets before use.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is DCIM?
Data center infrastructure management: software and processes that monitor and manage the physical infrastructure (power, cooling, space and assets) of a data center.
How is DCIM different from BMS and EPMS?
A BMS controls building systems such as cooling, and an EPMS monitors the electrical system. DCIM typically sits above them to combine their data with asset and capacity information.
What does DCIM provide?
Real-time monitoring and alarms, capacity planning, asset and rack records, and reporting such as PUE.
Do all data centers need it?
Not necessarily. Small sites may manage with basic monitoring; larger or colocation sites usually benefit from capacity and asset visibility.
Want to learn this properly?
This topic is covered in depth in our Electrical Design – Data Center Specialist program.
Ask us on WhatsAppLearn to do this on a full project in the Electrical Design – Data Center Specialist program, or read the data center design guide.