Power save mode

Green computing devices cost more, but think of the savings.

Most Fortune 500 companies will be increasing their data-centre space this year, thanks to a steady increase in infrastructure needs like power, network connectivity and compliance requirements, says a survey conducted by Campos Research & Analysis.

Similarly, International Data Corporation, a market research and analysis firm, has found that expenditure on power and cooling in data centres is growing eight times the rate of the expenditure on hardware.

Organisations maintain data centres, which house mission-critical computer systems and associated components like air-conditioning, fire suppression, redundant or back-up power supplies, to handle data necessary for their operations. A bank, for example, may have a data centre where all its customers's account information is kept and transactions involving these data are carried out.

"Since practically every company, mid-sized or large, has some kind of data centre, with larger companies often having dozens in various geographies which are custom-built in secure locations close to telecommunications services, it has become imperative to cut energy costs," says Steven Sams, vice president (site and facilities services), IBM.

India will have an energy demand of 20,000 megawatts for data centres by 2015, predicted Dr Ajay Mathur, director-general, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, at a recent seminar on Energy Efficient Computing, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

And this on top of the energy crisis facing the country, with high peak load deficits of 10-11 per cent, so it is imperative that corporates invest intelligently to keep their energy spends in check.

Green initiatives within the IT sector have evolved too. For example, there is IBM's green data-centre offerings which, says Jyoti Satyanathan, country manager, eServer, IBM India, "can reduce emissions that amount to taking 1,300 automobiles off the road".

IBM runs more than 8 million square feet of data centres in six continents; in India, it has executed projects exceeding 2.5 lakh sqft for over 55 clients.

"The savings are substantial "" for an average 25,000 sq ft data-centre, clients should be able to achieve up to 42 per cent energy savings," says Sams. This would also help save more than 5 billion kilowatt hours of energy per year globally, claims the company.

If they still haven't caught on in a big way, it's because most energy-efficient computing products have at least 30-50 per cent higher acquisition costs.

A report from Sun Microsystems, "Energy implication and e -waste generation: environmental impact of IT industry", recommends "tax incentives and government procurement guidelines that will motivate computer professionals to purchase energy efficient servers and other data centre components".

In the meantime, IBM is hoping to double the computing capacity of its data centres in the next three years without increasing either its power consumption or its carbon footprint "" "which should justify the costs," Sam reasons.