Need for Data Center Efficiency Driving Demand for Talent
The issue of data center efficiency is garnering more attention as companies face mounting pressure to cut back on spending. That’s because the massive, energy-gobbling data centers that hold racks of mission-critical equipment are costly to maintain. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that data centers in the U.S. consumed 61 billion kilowatt hours of energy in 2006 costing $4.5 billion, and those numbers are on track to double by 2011. Today, firms must take a closer look at their data centers to determine how much energy they consume…and how much they can save by making them operate more efficiently. Industry experts say energy is an untapped reservoir for corporate profitability. Essentially, for corporations, data center efficiency is not just about the environment…it is a bottom line issue.
Right now firms have an opportunity to reduce energy costs, while increasing data center capacity, reliability and efficiency. A number of leading companies with large data centers already have experts on their boards to strategize and execute energy saving initiatives. Executive search firm, A.E. Feldman, is one step ahead of this growing trend. The firm has a team of industry veterans already working with a number of firms to identify and place qualified professionals who can design and implement strategies for maximizing energy efficiency.
Data centers are facilities that contain IT equipment, including computing, networking and data storage equipment, as well as power and cooling infrastructure. They are found in nearly every sector of the economy, including banking and financial services. Data centers are also the largest consumers of energy. Carbon dioxide emissions from electricity consumed by fast-expanding data centers are growing rapidly and remain largely unchecked.
EPA research shows that the energy consumption of servers and data centers has doubled in the past five years and is expected to almost double again in the next five years at a cost of about $7.4 billion annually. Those levels of power consumption would also necessitate the construction of 10 additional power plants.
The EPA also says that existing technologies and strategies could reduce typical server energy use by an estimated 25% with even greater energy savings possible with advanced technologies. By employing a metric for data center energy efficiency, the EPA contends that data centers in the U.S. have the potential to save up to $4 billion in annual electricity costs through more energy efficient equipment and operations, and the broad implementation of best management practices.
Green Initiatives
HP Labs, HP’s central research arm, has launched an initiative to slash data center carbon footprints by 75%. Researchers will study how energy is used and managed for the entire lifetime of a data center, from its design, synthesis, operation and end-of-life for its components. The findings will be used to develop data center technologies that achieve a massive reduction in resource consumption while maintaining performance, reliability and uptime requirements.
HP Labs’ initiative is evidence of the widespread interest in improving the energy efficiency of data centers. Still, more action needs to be taken, according to a new survey by Aperture Research Institute Aperture found that overall data centers lack the tools and processes in place to deliver on the ambitions of their green initiatives.
The survey found that 29% percent of those polled have energy efficiency initiatives in place, while 37% plan to implement initiatives within the next year. Another 34%, however, have no plans to execute green initiatives. In addition, the Aperture survey shows that 76% of respondents say they do not charge businesses for the power consumed by the IT they commission - a process that could lead to more support for efficient technologies.
Top-Down Approach
Industry expert say energy efficiency must be made a priority in the board room for the potential savings alone Ken Brill, Executive Director at Uptime agrees. Data Center News quotes Brill as saying that it’s most important to emphasize to company executives that being energy efficient can save them hundreds of thousands of dollars. “The biggest problem is getting people to pay attention,” he said. “Trying to go from the bottom up isn’t working. It’s not getting traction. The way we get traction is if the CIO and CFO realize how much money this could save.”
More information on data center efficiency:
Corporations to Hire Talent to Design, Manage Energy Efficiency
IT Projects Undeterred by Slowing Economy, Experts in Data Center Efficiency in Demand
Firms Hiring Execs to Reduce Carbon Footprint
Energy is a Bottom Line Issue, Growing Demand for Experts in Data Center Efficiency
