CommScope Focuses on User Experience in Latest DCIM Software Release

CommScope’s latest release of the iTRACs data center infrastructure management platform focuses on making it simple to use. The latest iteration has a new interactive interface called iTRACs SimpleView and better role-based management to provide privacy and security.

Vendors in the DCIM software space are in a race to offer a suite with the most complete and rich functionality. Unfortunately, this evolution often adds complexity to what is already viewed as complex. CommScope is focusing on usability with the 4.1 update.

SimpleView is a visualization of the data center that lets a user view, manage, and interact with the physical ecosystem. It’s a user interface enhancement that shows the data center infrastructure in a browser. It has highlighting, filtering, tracing, and other capabilities.

Role-based management has been enhanced to make iTRACs easier to use in a colocation or multi-tenant setting. Through managing roles, the platform can actively restrict access to infrastructure so people only see what they’re supposed to see. The company said it provides a secure partition between clients in multi-tenant environments.

While being pretty-looking isn’t everything, if DCIM softwrae becomes simpler to use and understand through visualization, it’s a win. Since SimpleView is web-based, the data center can be viewed on a multitude of devices.

“We’re streamlining how you use the software,” said William Bloomstein. “It gives a complete look at the power chain in a browser-based interface that simplifies the experience.”

At the end of the day, all the data and metrics in the world are useless if people don’t use it. DCIM implementations fail if people don’t treat it as an ongoing tool rather than an occasional snapshot, or if they can’t see the information the specifically want and need to see. The 4.1 release makes it user friendly to a wider audience or more applicable in multi-tenant settings.

Furthering the goal of getting people using the DCIM, 4.1 has better collaborative capabilities allowing users to share and filter reports. Browser-based automatic scheduling features are meant to speed up insights. Enhanced Reporting Viewer lets users filter reports, making it easier to drill down, isolate and leverage vital information, according to the company.