Survey: Green Computing Could Squeeze Out Costs, Save a Lot of Energy
These days, chances are good that your company has a recycling program. You might even have purchased fuel-efficient vehicles and taken steps to reduce heating and cooling costs. But, more than likely, your data center is a bigger energy hog than it has to be.
A survey from the Palo Alto, Calif.-based Business Performance Management Forum finds that, despite stated concerns about making data center operations more environmentally sound, few information technology organizations have any specific plans in place. In fact, most IT managers give their operations failing grades in reducing energy consumption. The report was sponsored by BlueArc Corp., a San Jose, Calif.-based network storage company.
While the efficiency of computing might not seem like such a big deal, consider this: the power requirements of data centers in the U.S. are estimated to be equivalent to the output of five power plants. Energy expenditures and requirements for computing have doubled in the past five years and are still rising rapidly.
Meanwhile, computer disposal is thought to be the fastest-growing part of the waste stream. All of that makes computing sustainability more and more important.
The survey was sponsored by BlueArc Corp., a San Jose, Calif.-based network storage company.
According to a white paper related to the survey, strategies for dealing with the problem include some simple and low-cost measures. For example, turning off unused servers and complying with recommended management guidelines can cut the energy drain from data centers by as much as 20 percent. Replacing inefficient servers with newer, power-saving models can reduce energy use even more. The problem is, it has not been a priority.
Among the findings of the survey:
Three-quarters of respondents gave their organizations a "C" grade or worse in ability to control IT energy consumption.
Almost two-thirds of respondents have no specific green plans in place for the data center.
Nearly 20 percent of those polled spend more than $1 million per year on IT energy consumption, and 8 percent spend more than $10 million.
Nearly 20 percent of respondents set goals of 5 percent energy reduction or less, and almost two-thirds had set goals of 25 percent reduction or less.
Almost half of those polled said IT energy consumption increased in their organization last year, even as the cost of energy rose.
Forty-six percent of respondents reported that they had run out of space, power or cooling capacity.
The findings reflect responses from more than 150 IT professionals in an online survey completed in February, 2008. A set of interviews with industry and environmental executives complements the study.
An executive summary of the survey report, along with the white paper, are available for free at www.getleanandgreen.org.
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These days, chances are good that your company has a recycling program. You might even have purchased fuel-efficient vehicles and taken steps to reduce heating and cooling costs. But, more than likely, your data center is a bigger energy hog than it has to be. 
