FNT enters US, Asia with broad DCIM suite

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1 FNT enters US, Asia with broad DCIM suite Analyst: Katie Broderick Andy Lawrence 28 Jan, 2014 FNT, a German datacenter services and software company, is aiming to expand into the crowded US market with its DCIM software. Since its founding in 1994, the company has sold datacenter services; but around 2008, FNT changed its strategy to grow through its software business. FNT's DCIM product, Command, is an asset management, monitoring and analysis suite with network management capabilities so it's arguably a little broader than most DCIM products. The company still has room to grow in its native Europe, and will face competition from more than 50 DCIM vendors in the US. The 451 Take In Europe, primarily Germany, FNT has established a small but solid footprint in the DCIM sector, with good customers and more than 8m ($11m) in revenue from services, software and maintenance, the company says. Its plan to expand organically across the US and Asia will, of course, be met with intense competition, but it reflects its ambition to become a global supplier. There are more than 50 vendors vying for market share in the US. FNT's prospects will depend on execution, especially sales and marketing, and on differentiation. Its Command DCIM suite can help managers with capacity planning in terms of space, power and cooling. It also has network-monitoring tools and a configuration management tool that some others don't have, but it may need to enhance its analytics capabilities. Its integration with SAP, and its large component database, will interest some enterprise customers. Copyright The 451 Group 1

2 Context FNT was founded in 1994 in Ellwangen, Germany, as an IT consulting firm. More recently, FNT's strategy has been to grow through its software business. The company's flagship software product, Command, is a DCIM suite with some network and cable management capabilities. Command can help datacenter managers perform asset management and monitoring, and capacity planning for space and cable management, with 2-D and 3-D visualization of the datacenter floor. FNT also recently launched a second product, ServicePlanet, which it describes as a configuration management database (CMDB) with service catalog capabilities. This takes it into a new area that we describe as DCSM datacenter service management. FNT's strategy is focused on organic growth. FNT earns most of its revenue in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and has offices in Germany, Singapore and New Jersey. Expansion for FNT into the US will be tough, as it is even for native suppliers. The US is the largest addressable market for DCIM in terms of the number of datacenters, but it is served by 50 competing DCIM vendors. In Singapore, there is a smaller but growing datacenter installed base, and limited competition from many of the smaller vendors based in the US. In Europe, the second largest market for DCIM, penetration is still low for DCIM, but competition is still strong. As of the close of fiscal year 2013, FNT has approximately 211 employees, 500 customers and 16.6m in total revenue. FNT's fiscal year 2012 DCIM revenue from services, software and maintenance is approximately 8.5m. The company counts half of the DAX30 (publicly listed German companies) among its customer base, including Volkswagen and Sanofi, and UK-based telecom giant Vodafone. Technology Command has a three-tier structure with a Web-based API, Java middleware and relational database foundation. The software is comprised of four modules: C gate, C base, C line and C logic. Datacenter managers can use C gate to interface with and pull information from SAP Gateway, Microsoft Visio and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) interface. Linking with SAP means managers can link procurement and order processing with DCIM. The Visio connection is helpful for managers who want to import asset management information. Command's connection with WMI gives managers the ability to monitor and configure their client (laptop and desktop) environment. C base, Command's asset management and workflow module, has an asset library of over 40,000 Copyright The 451 Group 2

3 components. Components are put together to create device images. This component library for asset management can speed initial setup, and make it easier for datacenter managers to keep the database accurate. Workflows can also be created and monitored by datacenter personnel in C base through the use of responsibility matrices and escalation protocols. C line is Command's cable management module. With C line, managers can track cables under the floor or in the ceiling, and reserve ports for future projects or, in the case of colocation service providers, future tenants. C logic, Command's analysis module, gives managers the ability to perform live monitoring with Intel DCM, intelligent platform management interface (IPMI) or simple network management protocol (SNMP). Managers can use C logic to track power, space and cooling to speed deployments and decrease the likelihood of downtime. Managers can generate billing statements, manage IP addresses, and run custom or standard reports. Command's analysis capabilities are historic, and do not help managers with predictive analysis or what-if scenarios. With Command, managers can carry out DCIM and network, cabling and IP management. Because FNT provides monitoring and asset management capabilities as part of Command, we consider this to be a complete DCIM suite, as well as a DCSM tool, as opposed to a point product. Competition Managers choosing among DCIM vendors will likely compare FNT with other suite vendors, such as Schneider, Emerson, CA Technologies and Nlyte Software, and those that can track cabling and network connections vendors that include itracs, now a part of CommScope, Cormant, Panduit and Methode Electronics. In practice, FNT mostly faces those with a strong European presence, such as ABB, Siemens and Schneider Electric. With its new product, ServicePlanet, FNT is moving into IT service management (ITSM) and service catalog management. As ServicePlanet becomes more established, managers may start to think of FNT as a DCIM vendor with ITSM or DCSM capabilities. This is an emerging category that 451 Research has only recently defined. CA Technologies and Emerson Network Power, through its partnership with IBM, are examples of DCIM vendors moving in this direction. SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Copyright The 451 Group 3

4 FNT has a strong, well-engineered product. Command is a highly developed suite with additional network and cable management capabilities. Its product is well-established in Germany. FNT has low brand recognition outside Germany, and relatively few resources. It is not established in the largest and most competitive market for DCIM, the US. It may need to make partnerships and alliances. Opportunities Threats As DCIM converges with ITSM, FNT will be well positioned, with many capabilities already implemented. Cloud and commercial datacenters are taking greater market share, so the opportunity is consolidating into fewer, larger vendors. Big vendors are competing intensively for these customers. Copyright The 451 Group 4

5 Reproduced by permission of The 451 Group; This report was originally published within 451 Research's Market Insight Service. For additional information on 451 Research or to apply for trial access, go to: Copyright The 451 Group 5