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Facebook chose CA Technologies’ data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software after reviewing vendors and testing the system in its Prineville, Oregon, data center. The goal was to unite energy-related information from facility and IT systems so teams could monitor power and capacity across Facebook’s global data centers. The 2014 announcement described the selection and its intended benefits; it did not report measured energy savings.
What DCIM software did Facebook choose?
Facebook selected CA Technologies’ DCIM software, rather than building an in-house system. Data Center Knowledge reported the choice on January 29, 2014, after Facebook evaluated a dozen companies and also considered developing its own software. Data Center Knowledge’s report says CA worked with Facebook on a custom solution.
Why did Facebook want a DCIM system?
Facebook’s central requirement was to bring energy-related information together in one place. Tom Furlong, then Facebook’s vice president of Infrastructure Data Centers, said, “We are continually looking at ways to optimize our data centers and bringing all of our energy-related information together in one spot was a core requirement.”
The intended scope crossed the boundary between facilities and IT. The report described monitoring power, cooling, and environmental conditions alongside IT resources, data center space, and capacity. Consolidating those views was meant to help Facebook understand energy use and available capacity across its facilities.
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CA executive Terrence Clark described the expected value as analyzing data in aggregate to make decisions that could improve efficiency and reduce costs, while supporting customer experience and innovation. That was CA’s explanation of the intended benefit, not a published measurement of results at Facebook.
How did Facebook evaluate the software?
Facebook’s evaluation proceeded from a proof of concept to a larger pilot in a 100,000-square-foot section of its Prineville, Oregon, data center. Furlong summarized the rationale for testing before committing: “You have to figure out a way to try it before you buy it.”
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He also identified data quality as an important lesson from the evaluation: “We learned how important data quality can be.” For a DCIM project, a consolidated dashboard is only as dependable as the underlying readings and asset information. Coverage across facility and IT systems, consistent data, and a pilot in a real operating environment therefore matter alongside the software’s feature list.
What could CA’s DCIM software do at the time?
Historical CA product material described a system that collected information from multiple devices and protocols, including SNMP, Modbus, and BACnet. It listed dashboards and trend charts, alerts, capacity management, and 3D visualization, and named CA ecoMeter and CA Visual Infrastructure as components. These are historical vendor descriptions, not confirmation that those products remain available or supported today. CA’s historical DCIM datasheet provides the product details.
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A broader market guide described DCIM as combining facilities power management, physical asset and network management, and financial management and planning. It also listed Facebook as a CA DCIM reference project. The contemporaneous account is the source for Facebook’s selection and pilot; the category description helps explain why DCIM can span operational domains that are often managed separately.
What the 2014 report does—and does not—establish
- Established: Facebook chose CA Technologies’ DCIM software following a vendor review, proof of concept, and larger Prineville pilot.
- Established: Facebook wanted a consolidated view of energy-related information across facility and IT resources, with power efficiency and capacity tracking as goals.
- Not established: The report gives no contract value, deployment schedule, or measured post-deployment efficiency gains. Selection and stated goals alone do not demonstrate savings.
- Not established today: The historical material does not verify the current ownership, availability, or support status of the named CA products.
What the case suggests for a DCIM evaluation
Facebook’s reported process points to practical evaluation questions for organizations considering DCIM:
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- Can the system collect reliable data from the facility and IT equipment that matter to your sites?
- Does it work with the devices, protocols, and tools already in use?
- Can operations teams see power, cooling, environmental conditions, assets, and capacity in a coherent view?
- Are alerts and capacity-planning features useful for the decisions teams actually need to make?
- Can a proof of concept or pilot expose data-quality gaps and validate fit under real operating conditions?
The report does not provide a scored vendor comparison or show how CA ranked against each alternative. Its useful lesson is narrower: Facebook tested the fit at facility scale and treated data quality as a key consideration before relying on an aggregated view.
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