APC integrates with Microsoft providing comprehensive view of physical infrastructure

CeBIT (Hall 12, Stand B49) -- APC by Schneider Electric announces a software integration initiative that will enable APC's data center management suite to tightly couple with Microsoft's System Center Operations Manager 2007.

This integration will give data center managers the ability to view and manage physical infrastructure, including power, cooling, physical space and security, as well as providing a comprehensive view of the health of servers, applications, and clients within the datacenter.

"IT services are further developing into a complex combination of people, processes, and technology, and we are looking forward to working with Microsoft to provide our mutual customers with the necessary tools to enable a sound IT and physical infrastructure," says John DiPippo, senior vice president, Data Center Solutions, Services, and Software, APC.

"Integrating APC's data center management suite with Microsoft's System Center Operations Manager will allow datacenter managers to not only understand the needs of an IT environment, but how the physical infrastructure can support those needs."

APC's comprehensive Data Center Physical Infrastructure Management Suite, including InfraStruXure@ Central, Change Manager and Capacity Manager, consists of design, operations and monitoring capabilities providing comprehensive management for power, cooling, security and space.

APC's InfraStruXure Central supports multi-vendor physical infrastructure equipment, allowing for the consolidation of detailed information of all the physical devices in this one monitoring application. APC's Change Manager provides inventory management and workflow tools to enable datacenter operators to map the IT and physical infrastructure equipment that is located within the data center.

When combined with Capacity Manager, these applications provide data center operators the ability to perform predictive simulation and modeling of the physical infrastructure -- evaluating 'what-if' scenarios before they occur.

Microsoft's System Center Operation Manager provides a management solution addressing end-to-end service monitoring in the enterprise IT environment. A comprehensive view of service health is key to business continuity and delivering an agile, rapid response to events that may impact the normal running of business and ultimately cost an enterprise money.

"Microsoft System Center delivers comprehensive, integrated, cost effective management capabilities across the enterprise while enabling customers to also have deep insight into their physical and virtualized IT infrastructure through Operations Manager 2007," says JD Marymee, Director of Strategic Partner Alliances, Management and Services Division, Microsoft.

"We are pleased to work with APC to provide our mutual customers with the capabilities to extend System Center Operations Manager monitoring capabilities throughout their complex IT environments through integration with APC's comprehensive Data Center Physical Infrastructure Management Suite."

Together APC's data center management suite and Microsoft's System Center Operations Manager solution will share key data points, including alarm notifications and historical data on the targeted server deployment environment.

In addition, it provides a comprehensive look at how the physical and IT environments operate independently and influence each other, providing critical operating information on power and cooling capacity.

Linking these two management suites will allow datacenter managers to better visualize the data center, deploy new technologies and services and the physical infrastructure to support them.

In the first release, APC expects that customers will have access to the integrated APC InfraStruXure Central and Microsoft's System Center Operations Manager solution worldwide in Q1 2009.

Today, clients can contact APC and Microsoft to start the process of evaluating their current facilities and data center strategy to better manage and control their energy consumption and costs.