In the rush to bring datacenters online, monitoring and DCIM teams are consistently left until the final stages of commissioning. This approach creates predictable problems: compressed timelines, inconsistent data, and systems that never quite deliver on their promise. There is a better way.
The Monitoring Squeeze
Monitoring is typically the last workstream to mobilise on a datacenter project. By the time the DCIM team arrives, the design consultants have moved on, the construction teams are demobilising, and there's immense pressure to achieve practical completion. The result? Rushed integrations, poor documentation, and systems that require extensive rework after handover.
Endpoint Mapping: Get It Right from the Start
Every datacenter contains thousands of monitored endpoints: power meters, environmental sensors, UPS systems, cooling units, PDUs, and more. Each endpoint needs a unique identifier that makes sense not just today, but for the 20+ year lifespan of the facility.
When monitoring teams are brought in late, they inherit naming conventions created by multiple contractors with different standards. The electrical contractor uses one scheme, the mechanical contractor another, and the BMS integrator a third. The result is a patchwork of inconsistent identifiers that makes correlation and troubleshooting unnecessarily difficult.
"The naming convention you establish during construction will be with you forever. Getting it wrong costs time on every single operational task for the life of the facility."
Early involvement allows monitoring teams to establish unified naming conventions before the first device is commissioned. This means:
- Consistent hierarchy: Location → System → Equipment → Point, applied uniformly across all vendors
- Future-proof structure: Naming that accommodates planned expansion phases
- Cross-system alignment: BMS, EPMS, and DCIM all speaking the same language
Documentation: The Construction Phase Opportunity
Construction phases generate enormous amounts of documentation: as-built drawings, equipment schedules, commissioning records, test certificates, and O&M manuals. This documentation is essential for effective monitoring system configuration and ongoing operations.
The problem? Documentation quality degrades rapidly after practical completion. Contractors move to their next project. The people who actually installed and commissioned the equipment are no longer available to answer questions. Drawing revisions stop being tracked.
Late Mobilisation
- • Incomplete as-built documentation
- • No access to construction teams
- • Equipment details from labels only
- • Missing network topology info
- • Guesswork on sensor locations
Early Mobilisation
- • Documentation captured in real-time
- • Direct access to installers
- • Full equipment specifications
- • Network design input
- • Verified sensor placement
Monitoring teams embedded during construction can capture critical information as it's created, not months later when it's been lost or degraded. They can attend commissioning activities, verify sensor placements, and build relationships with the contractors who will support warranty issues.
Pre-Staging: Build Before You Arrive
One of the most effective strategies for successful datacenter monitoring deployment is pre-staging: building and testing as much of the monitoring infrastructure as possible before arriving on site.
With early access to design documentation and equipment schedules, monitoring teams can:
Pre-Build Dashboards
Create visualisations, alarm configurations, and report templates before equipment arrives.
Pre-Configure Integrations
Set up protocol handlers, data mappings, and transformation rules in a lab environment.
Pre-Test Workflows
Validate alarm escalation, notification routing, and operational procedures before go-live.
Pre-staging transforms the on-site commissioning phase from a build activity into a verification activity. Instead of creating configurations under time pressure, teams are simply confirming that pre-built configurations work as expected with real equipment.
Pre-Commission: Validate Early, Fix Early
Pre-commissioning monitoring systems alongside the equipment they monitor creates a powerful quality assurance mechanism. Issues discovered during pre-commissioning are far cheaper to fix than issues discovered after handover.
Consider these scenarios:
Scenario: Sensor installed in wrong location
During pre-commission: Contractor relocates sensor as part of snagging. Cost: minimal.
After handover: Requires new work order, site access coordination, potential downtime. Cost: significant.
Scenario: BMS point not exposed correctly
During pre-commission: BMS contractor adjusts configuration same day. Cost: minimal.
After handover: BMS contractor has demobilised, requires expensive callback. Cost: significant.
Scenario: Network segmentation blocks monitoring traffic
During pre-commission: Network team adjusts firewall rules as part of commissioning. Cost: minimal.
After handover: Change request, CAB approval, scheduled maintenance window. Cost: significant.
The PODTECH Approach
At PODTECH, we've learned these lessons across dozens of datacenter deployments worldwide. We've seen the cost of late mobilisation and the benefits of early involvement. Our mobilisation methodology is built on these principles:
Our Mobilisation Framework
Design Phase Engagement
Review M&E designs, establish naming conventions, define integration requirements before construction begins.
Construction Phase Presence
Embed team members on site during key installation phases. Capture documentation in real-time.
Off-Site Pre-Staging
Build monitoring infrastructure in our labs while construction progresses. Arrive on site ready to deploy.
Integrated Pre-Commission
Commission monitoring systems alongside M&E equipment. Identify and resolve issues while contractors are on site.
Handover Excellence
Deliver fully operational monitoring with complete documentation, trained operators, and proven runbooks.
The Bottom Line
Monitoring is not the last thing to do—it's one of the first things to plan. The decisions made during design and construction phases echo through decades of operations. Endpoint naming, documentation quality, and integration architecture established during construction become permanent features of the facility.
Early mobilisation of monitoring teams is not a cost—it's an investment that pays dividends in faster commissioning, better data quality, and more effective operations for the life of the datacenter.
"The best time to involve your monitoring team was at design stage. The second best time is today. Don't wait until the construction teams have left."