Overview

Data centres are the backbone of the digital economy, and their uninterrupted operation depends on precise management of power distribution, cooling systems, and environmental conditions. As organisations scale their IT infrastructure to support cloud computing, AI workloads, and digital transformation initiatives, the complexity of managing data centre facilities grows exponentially.

EcoXplore's Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) solution provides facility operators with real-time visibility into every layer of their physical infrastructure. From power distribution units and UPS systems to cooling units and environmental sensors, our DCIM platform consolidates operational data into a single management interface that supports both day-to-day operations and long-term capacity planning.

Why DCIM Matters

Traditional data centre management relies heavily on manual processes: spreadsheets for capacity tracking, periodic walk-throughs for environmental checks, and reactive responses to equipment alarms. This approach introduces risk. Cooling failures go undetected until temperatures reach critical thresholds. Power distribution imbalances create hotspots that degrade equipment reliability. Capacity constraints are discovered only when new deployments fail.

A properly implemented DCIM solution eliminates these blind spots. It provides continuous, automated monitoring of the physical infrastructure that supports your IT operations, enabling proactive management rather than reactive firefighting.

What Our DCIM Platform Monitors

Power Distribution and Consumption: Real-time monitoring of power consumption at every level of the distribution chain, from utility feed through switchgear, PDUs, and individual rack circuits. Our system tracks total facility load, power usage effectiveness (PUE), and per-rack power density to support both operational management and efficiency optimisation.

Cooling and Environmental Conditions: Continuous monitoring of temperature, humidity, airflow, and differential pressure across the data hall. Sensor placement follows best practices for hot aisle and cold aisle configurations, with automated alerts when conditions deviate from defined operating envelopes.

UPS and Backup Power Systems: Status monitoring of UPS units, battery banks, and generator systems, including battery health, charge levels, and transfer switch status. This ensures that backup power systems are ready to perform when needed.

Capacity Planning: Predictive modelling tools that help operators plan for future IT deployments by analysing current power and cooling utilisation trends. This prevents over-provisioning (which wastes capital) and under-provisioning (which creates operational risk).

Multi-Site Visibility

For organisations operating multiple data centre facilities, our DCIM platform supports centralised monitoring across 10+ sites simultaneously. Operations teams can compare PUE metrics, utilisation rates, and environmental conditions across facilities from a single web-based dashboard, enabling standardised operating procedures and coordinated capacity management.

Integration with Existing Systems

Our DCIM solution integrates with existing building management systems (BMS), fire suppression systems, and access control platforms through standard protocols including Modbus, BACnet, and SNMP. This means that DCIM does not replace your existing infrastructure investments. It layers on top of them, providing a unified operational view that connects IT and facilities management teams.

For clients who also deploy our Energy Management System (EMS) or Power Quality Monitoring System (PQMS), the integration is seamless. All data flows into the PecStar® iEMS platform, giving operators a single source of truth for both IT infrastructure performance and energy efficiency.

Project Reference: SingTel DC West

EcoXplore delivered the infrastructure monitoring and fit-out for the SingTel DC West data centre in Singapore, one of the largest carrier-neutral colocation facilities in the region. This project demonstrated our capability to deliver DCIM solutions at enterprise scale, integrating power monitoring, environmental sensing, and capacity management across a high-density data centre environment.

Singapore Regulatory Context for Data Centre Operators

Singapore's data centre operators face a uniquely demanding regulatory environment. The IMDA Singapore Data Centre Roadmap (announced in 2022 and progressively expanded since) ties new data centre capacity allocation to demonstrated PUE performance and sustainability commitments. Operators applying under the IMDA Data Centre Call for Application schemes must produce verified PUE evidence, energy-efficiency benchmarks, and credible decarbonisation roadmaps. DCIM is the underlying data platform that produces these numbers.

Concurrently, the Singapore Carbon Pricing Act 2019 imposes a carbon tax on facility emissions above the 25,000-tonne CO2e threshold. Most large data centres are above this threshold and pay the tax directly. The current rate of SGD 25 per tonne (2024 to 2025) is set to rise to SGD 50 to 80 per tonne by 2030. DCIM produces the verified Scope 2 electricity emissions data that the tax calculation requires.

The Singapore Green Plan 2030 also sets explicit targets for the data centre sector: meeting growing compute demand while staying within the bounds of national energy and emissions commitments. DCIM operators benchmark their facilities against the Green Plan's PUE expectations and reporting cadences.

EcoXplore's DCIM solution produces the data series these frameworks require: rack-level power consumption, cooling efficiency metrics, real-time PUE, and verified Scope 2 emissions. Reports can be scheduled to match IMDA, ACRA SGX, and corporate sustainability reporting cycles.

Applications

Enterprise Data Centres: Full-stack infrastructure monitoring for organisations managing their own IT facilities, from single server rooms to multi-building campus deployments.

Colocation Providers: Tenant-level metering and environmental monitoring that supports SLA compliance, accurate billing, and transparent capacity reporting.

Edge and Modular Data Centres: Remote monitoring solutions for distributed edge deployments where on-site staffing is minimal or non-existent.

Related Solutions

Explore other EcoXplore solutions that complement Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM):

• Building Management System - integrated facility operations control
• Digital Twin - predictive simulation and optimisation
• Condition Monitoring System - real-time equipment health tracking
• Energy Management System - facility-wide energy efficiency platform

Recommended Products

EcoXplore offers a range of hardware and software products for Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM). View our full product catalogue or explore these key components:

• PecStar® iEEM - IoT-enabled metering infrastructure
• PMC-53A - multifunction power meter for rack-level energy tracking
• Modbus Gateway - protocol bridge for legacy meters

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DCIM and why do data centres need it?

Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) is a monitoring and management solution that provides real-time visibility into a data centre's physical infrastructure, including power distribution, cooling systems, environmental conditions, and rack space utilisation. It helps operators maintain uptime, optimise PUE, and plan capacity efficiently.

What PUE improvement can DCIM deliver?

Data centres that implement DCIM typically improve their PUE by 0.1 to 0.3 points, translating to significant annual energy savings. By identifying cooling inefficiencies, airflow hotspots, and underutilised capacity, DCIM enables operators to optimise infrastructure performance.

Does EcoXplore's DCIM support real-time environmental monitoring?

Yes. Our DCIM platform monitors temperature, humidity, airflow, and differential pressure at rack level in real time. IoT sensors deployed throughout the data centre feed data to the central dashboard, with automated alerts when conditions approach critical thresholds.

Can DCIM integrate with existing BMS and power monitoring systems?

EcoXplore's DCIM integrates with Building Management Systems (BMS), power monitoring hardware, and environmental sensors through standard protocols including Modbus, BACnet, and SNMP.

What size data centres can EcoXplore support?

Our DCIM solutions scale from single server rooms and edge computing facilities to large enterprise data centres. Our SingTel DC West deployment demonstrates our capability to support Tier 3+ facilities with complex power and cooling architectures.

How does DCIM support IMDA Data Centre Call for Application?

Operators applying under IMDA Data Centre Call for Application schemes must produce verified PUE evidence and decarbonisation commitments. EcoXplore's DCIM produces the underlying data series, including rack-level power consumption, cooling efficiency, and Scope 2 electricity emissions, in the format required for IMDA submissions.

Get Started

Ready to deploy Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) for your facility? Contact our engineering team for a complimentary site assessment and tailored proposal.