Data centers are experiencing substantial changes and redesign to keep up with the evolving technologies such as virtualization, unified computing and private and public cloud infrastructure.

DORMA, a global partner for premium access solutions and services enabling better buildings, was restructuring its IT infrastructure when it realized a need for a systems management tool. The company provides door controls, movable walls and glass fittings and accessories, is a player in the security, time management and access control segment and is the top manufacturer in Germany for emergency exit control and escape route security systems.

IT plays an importance role in managing DORMA’s day-to-day business activities. An integrated system management solution helps users centralize and simplify data center management and assists with the data center and IT asset lifecycle.

“We were using ICCM earlier to address our service-management requirements. However, as we included more IT infrastructure and expanded our base we needed a solution which could do both systems and service-management using an architecture to support our global expansion,” said Geoff Stone, head of DORMA’s IT infrastructure division.

DORMA turned to ManageEngine as a solution for both systems and service management. DORMA now uses ManageEngine’s (News - Alert) IT360, an integrated IT management solution, in more than 13 countries across Europe, with systems monitoring more confined to the U.K. and service management component spread across.

IT360 adds a business context to monitoring IT resources, helping users understand the impact of downtime on a business. An easy-to-use Web console guides the user to monitor the availability and performance of the network, servers and applications. ManageEngine has been providing proactive and efficient technical support to more than 60,000 customers in over 190 countries for more than 15 years. To enhance the responsiveness and efficiency, for IT360 it provides support 24/7 on a case basis.

DORMA uses VMware infrastructure in its NOC (News - Alert). “We have added virtual infrastructure very recently and IT360 allows us to monitor all our IT infrastructure including the virtual servers from a centralized console. Another advantage that we get by using IT360 is the service-management status report, which I can see right on the unified dashboard with other IT infrastructure.”

Since implementing IT360, Stone and his team have been able to reap benefits such as centralized alarm console, which allows them to be proactive; business service dashboards, which allow them to view real-time status of infrastructure and tickets from a central console; distributed architecture of the product, which allows them to scale the operation to their business requirements; ease of use; no need for professional services for deployment or training and lower operational and maintenance costs.