Energy efficient IT

IBM aims at 42% energy savings in data centres

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is a well-recognised concept in industrial buying centres. The TCO often reveals that the energy consumption cost over the lifetime of an appliance is of the same order of magnitude as its purchasing price. Even private citizens purchasing consumer goods are becoming more fully aware that it can be worth paying more for a piece of equipment if the extra cost is recovered by energy savings. Energy consumption has become a decisive argument when buying appliances, lighting equipment or a new car, among other things, but how many buyers consider energy efficiency when purchasing a computer?

Cost buyers are still unaware that the energy consumption of a computer can be substantial. This is especially true for a computer server that runs continuously night and day. IBM calculated that energy consumption at data centres is running so high that it is inhibiting growth and even threatening their survival. According to the analyst firm IDC, roughly 50 cents is spent on energy for every dollar of computer hardware. Without action, this is expected to increase to 71 cents over the next four years.

IBM recently announced that it will redirect one billion dollars per year across its businesses in an effort to dramatically increase the energy efficiency of their IT systems. The plan includes new products and services to sharply reduce data centre energy consumption. Savings of 42% should be achieved in data centres, resulting in 7,439 tons of carbon emissions saved each year (based on the U.S. energy mix).

Reference

IBM Press Release ‘IBM Unveils Plan to Combat Data Center Energy Crisis; Allocates $1 Billion to Advance "Green" Technology and Services’.