Sunbird Software
Transforming the Way Data Centers Are Managed

Typically, a manager of a 100- rack data center monitors over 17 billion data points annually just for the power supplies for the servers on each rack—excluding additional data points for asset metadata, power, and environmental information. Analyzing these massive datasets to improve data center performance is a herculean task when the data center manager relies on manual tools like Excel and Visio for infrastructure management. Somerset, NJ-based Sunbird Software provides Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software as an alternative solution for managing data center infrastructure. “Our solution empowers modern data center managers to overcome the limitations of Excel and Visio,” says Ching-I Hsu, CEO of Sunbird Software.

Sunbird’s easily deployable and operable DCIM solution collects information from intelligent rack PDUs, environmental sensors, facility items, and other devices. It displays information on budgeted power capacity, cabinet space, data port usage, and floor space capacity as well as an asset inventory of facility items classified as CRACs, cabinets, data panels, devices, floor PDUs, network items, power outlets, probes, Rack PDUs, and UPSs. Through a set of six preconfigured dashboards and more than 65 widgets, Sunbird’s DCIM solution presents essential information and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that enables data center managers to know the real-time asset, power, cooling, and environmental statuses of their data center infrastructure.

“Our dashboard for asset management presents information about the number of assets and breaks down each asset class by attributes like model, cost, age, and class,” says Ching-I Hsu. Data center manager can harness the information to plan maintenance schedules or assess their asset replacement strategies. “Sunbird DCIM enables organizations to not only efficiently manage assets but also to attain energy efficiency. Our power management dashboard plays a crucial role in their efforts,” says Ching-I Hsu. The dashboard for power management provides trending charts that compare actual and budgeted power consumption by either a customer or location. Sunbird's DCIM permits user-defined thresholds across the entire power chain through the collection of real-time information from any SNMP-enabled device.

Our solution empowers modern data center managers to overcome the limitations of Excel and Visio and boost efficiency and productivity

Sunbird’s DCIM solution simplifies compliance with ASHRAE guidelines and assists to avoid costly damage, reduce risk, and prevent overcooling. The solution provides metrics such as temperature, humidity, ΔT, and ΔH within a cabinet. “Sunbird’s thermal-time lapse video is an interactive report that helps data center managers maintain uptime and more efficiently use energy and cooling in their data centers,” says Ching-I Hsu.

As Sunbird’s solution seamlessly integrates with third-party tools, clients’ workflow and planning processes are simplified tasks. The change management dashboard displays information on the number of requests, the types of items to be changed, the completion timeline, and the organizational workflow, which data center managers can use to expedite request processing. In one of the implementation highlights, a multi-billion-dollar global food and personal care company had seven data centers worldwide and over 4,000 cabinets. The client was relying on Excel files and Visio drawings, and data collection, analytics, and sharing were the challenges. The client sought a solution to determine and visualize in real time the service impact of all data center incidents. After deploying Sunbird’s multi-user DCIM system, the client could transition to an SQL database and manage data center operations more effectively. Eventually, the client could reduce data collection and reporting times while improving uptime, efficiency, and productivity.

“Sunbird constantly meets with customers to gain useful information, insights, and analytics that drive our product forward,” says Ching-I Hsu. With its set of cutting-edge features and unique approach, Sunbird aims to change the paradigms of the DCIM arena.