In this episode of DCD>Talks, Kat Sullivan sits down with Jeff Safovich, CTO of RiT Tech, to explore the transformative role of AI in DCIM and its impact on infrastructure management. Safovich begins by sharing his extensive background in data center infrastructure and his passion for driving technological innovation.

"The data center industry is at a pivotal moment, ready to embrace innovations, technologies, and approaches for managing infrastructure," says Safovich, as he sets the stage for the discussion.

RiT Tech and Universal Intelligent Infrastructure Management (UIIM)

RiT Tech, a leading provider of data center infrastructure management solutions, develops tools to help operators efficiently manage, maintain, and optimize their facilities and IT systems.

Safovich explains that RiT Tech has brought together a forum of industry experts to redefine traditional data center practices: “With this forum, we’re developing a new approach, evolving beyond traditional data center infrastructure management. We call it UIIM – Universal Intelligent Infrastructure Management.”

As Sullivan probes into the meaning behind “Universal” and “Intelligent” in UIIM, Safovich elaborates.

The “Universal” aspect involves integrating and collecting data from all layers of the data center infrastructure – environmental, power, cooling, IT, and logical layers. This includes data from various systems like CMDB, BMS, ticketing, networking, SCADA, and CRM, as well as from all hardware and equipment, such as sensors, switches, servers, power, and cooling systems.

“Universal means bringing together data from every device and system across the entire infrastructure,” explains Safovich.

Additionally, UIIM is designed to manage all types of data centers, including colocation, enterprise, public and private cloud, edge, and dark sites. “The goal is to provide comprehensive management capabilities for any data center, no matter its type or scale.”

The evolution of DCIM

When discussing the development of DCIM in the industry, Safovich argues that today’s vendor offerings in data center management are largely unchanged from 10-15 years ago, with little real innovation. Even analysts continue to use outdated language to describe industry expectations, reflecting a view that hasn’t evolved in a decade. Safovich affirms:

“We believe the data center industry is falling behind. Operators, however, are pushing forward, demanding solutions that can manage and operate infrastructure across all equipment and vendors. The introduction of DCIM in 2009 only created confusion, as vastly different tools were grouped under the same term. While most solutions focus on monitoring and reporting – important but insufficient – they don’t meet today’s needs.”

“Modern tools must incorporate intelligent capabilities like automation, operations management, and workflow optimization, using big data to streamline infrastructure management. We're committed to redefining this space to address these evolving demands.”

The role of AI in enabling data-driven insights

According to Safovich, RiT Tech’s approach centers on collecting data from across the data center and harnessing AI and machine learning to process and analyze it. By examining historical data, they can gain insights into data center behavior, enabling predictive maintenance that identifies potential failures and proactively mitigates risks. He adds:

1. “Our AI Provisioning Module automates tasks like deploying IT equipment and network connectivity, saving up to 95 percent of planning time, reducing errors, and improving energy efficiency.”
2. “Our AI Analytics Module detects anomalies in infrastructure behavior, while our Sustainability Module tracks metrics like carbon emissions and energy efficiency to help operators meet sustainability standards.”
3. “We’re also developing a Proactive Recommendations Module to predict risks, optimize resource use, and improve operational efficiency, delivering significant value to our customers.”

In concluding the DCD>Talks episode, Safovich discusses the future of data centers and AI, stressing that while fully autonomous data centers are still far off, the immediate focus is on AI’s potential to empower people rather than replace them.

By analyzing vast amounts of data beyond human capability, AI offers a deeper understanding of infrastructure, helping people do their jobs more effectively and enjoyably. This represents a major opportunity for the industry.

Watch the full DCD>Talks episode here.