Aperture Looks to Ease Data Center Management

Aperture Technologies wants to give IT administrators a clear view of whats going on in their data centers.

The Stamford, Conn., companys new Vista 500 resource management software is designed to give users insight and control over a variety of aspects in their data centers, from power and cooling to space and hardware.

Vista 500, launched Nov. 13, lets users visualize their resources, manage resources and processes, measure resources, and look ahead so they can implement change when needed.

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"Aperture has a broad market presence, and were hearing the same things loud and clear: Data centers are stressed to the limit and theyre tougher than ever to manage," Chairman and CEO Bill Clifford said in a statement.

Vista 500 offers greater management of power and blade servers. The software can track the availability of rack power, tracks the impact of outages and gives users a three-phase power connectivity data model. Administrators also can use the tool to provision server through change management processes.

The software also offers reporting and analysis features that are standardized on Business Objects Crystal Reports tools. In addition, it sends out automated alerts when service-level agreements are not being met, and offers Web-based tools for device positioning.

Fujitsu Services has been using Aperture technology in about 175,000 square feet of data center space in Europe for several years for planning and management purposes, said Mark Scott, data center development manager.

The IT services company designs, builds and operates IT environments and uses Aperture to help install, migrate and manage these data centers, Scott said.

He estimated that Apertures Vista technology saves the company 480 man hours every month in installation and migration work, and 20 hours a month in auditing. Given the rapid growth of the business and the constantly changing needs of its customers, Fujitsu Services needs to be able to track and manage not only what is currently happening in the data center, but also what will be needed in the future.

"We need to very quickly understand where our data centers growth is going to take us," said Scott, in London. "Our data center will be fully populated very soon, but were not exactly sure when."

Apertures technology will give Scott a better idea when that will happen, enabling him to better prepare.

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