Software Briefing: Domtar, Viridity, EnergyOrbit, Nlyte

Viridity has updated its data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software to let businesses keep track of how much electrical power is being consumed by individual applications and lines of business, reports CIO News. Viridity’s EnergyCenter Version 2.0, set for release on July 1, is based on a database of information about “tens of thousands” of server configurations, including how much electrical power each configuration uses at small incremental levels of utilization.

The software then monitors the utilization level of data center equipment and identifies idle or under-utilized servers that might be candidates for consolidation. Users can also associate the energy use with particular applications and services. A company can identify a group of servers associated with payroll, for example, to calculate the operational cost of that department, CIO News said.

In April, the company won the Uptime Institute’s 2011 Green Enterprise IT Awards (GEIT) in the “Outstanding IT Product in a User Deployment” category, according to the company website.

Domtar Corporation has launched a new online environmental tool called “Paper Trail,” which allows its customers to review the environmental impact of its paper products. The database allows users to filter by product name, paper weight, size and quantity. Based on that information, the calculator tells users which mills process the paper, and the environmental impact of the paper order based on water use, the distance the fiber traveled to get to a mill, Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, waste generation and energy used in manufacturing. The tool also shows how those impacts compare with industry averages, Domtar says.

energyOrbit, a cloud computing company in the demand-side management sector, has installed its software at South Carolina state-owned electric and water utility Santee Cooper. The utility provides electricity for 2 million residential and commercial customers, and it is the state’s largest power producer. The company uses energyOrbit to run its energy efficiency programs, and hopes to improve its efficiency enough to offset the need for building more power generation capacity, the companies report.

Before the system upgrade, Santee Cooper had been using a variety of paper forms, spreadsheets and databases to track costs operations.

nlyte Software, makers of data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software, announced that law firm Fenwick & West has chosen its software to improve overall data center business processes, and make strides in its goal of LEED platinum certification. The interface offers a visual representation of the data center floor to assist with the tracking of capacity trends and PUE rating. The software manages the use of power, cooling and space to reduce operating expenses.

OPW Fuel Management Systems, a designer and manufacturer of tank gauges and automated fuel control systems, has launched Phoenix SQL Fuel Management Software. The browser-based program features a new interface that allows users to easily navigate more than 60 different types of reports and consolidate data collected from multiple sites with customizable report parameters. Phoenix SQL software offers on-demand transaction polling for fuel control systems and tank gauges. In addition, Phoenix SQL is designed to poll multiple TCP/IP-based fuel control systems and tank gauges simultaneously, reducing data collection times for multiple fuel sites.

Airclic has released a new software product, Transport Perform, that aims to help third-party logistics (3PL) providers with automating the “last mile” delivery process. The software is a full-service logistics management tool with features including dispatch control of routes, GPS tracking, geo-fencing and route reconciliation. Airlic said the software will assist 3PL providers with the management of fuel costs and efficiency. The platform can be deployed on any mobile device.

A new line of thermal printers from cab Technology, the XC Series line, uses one print head for each color and includes a “ribbon saver” option for the second color to help reduce the overall printing costs. The XC Series meets the requirements of the Global Harmonized System (GHS), a United Nations-supported method of classification and labeling of chemicals, writes Business Solutions.

Photo: Viridity