Opt In For Green Datacenters

By Author: Martin Lobo
Total Articles: 355
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Today in the data center industry, the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) has materialized to efficiently integrate the main evaluative constituents of data center energy usage to offer meaningful efficiency estimations. This standard will be equivalent to “Miles Per Gallon” figure utilized within the auto industry to enable customers to estimate fuel efficiency between different providers and models.

Today many data centers are becoming short of space and power. They are not being able to add more servers as they have reached either their space/ power limits or they have reached the cooling capacity limits. Furthermore, environmental issues too are becoming important concerns as they also contribute to a company’s growing ability.

Sustainability is essential in a business. Hence, numerous data center clients are aiming at methods to preserve energy and reduce expenses for the company to grow. It is said that the journey to a green datacenter has its sustainability and cost rewards. Energy consumption and environmental issues are essential. If it is not addressed it can hinder a company’s growth and its ...
... ability to respond to organizational IT requirements.

Green awareness has the potential to become green action and build the foundation for Green IT. Making use of green technologies to expand capacities, minimizing expenses and risks at the same time is much more than mere smart business. Planning for corporate sustainability and energy efficiency with positive outcome always go hand in hand. The global economy has made the modern day world more cooperative and competitive. Therefore, as companies today strive to thrive in a constantly changing scenario, becoming accustomed to sustainability tactics is a business imperative. Leading IT service providers have introduced green data center initiatives recently.

They generally follow a phased methodology to offer green datacenter solutions that are cost efficient in nature, offer sustainability to business operations and ensures a stable bottom-line. The three essential phases are:-

The Assessment Phase
This phase creates an energy usage baseline and carbon footprint of the present environment using an assessment framework. This is followed by Gap analysis and feasibility study to spot transformational activities, conduct impact analysis and evaluate cost structure.

Design and Planning Phase
This stage gives a detailed route map for certain Green IT initiatives like DC optimization, procurement, recycling, resource and financial planning

Implementation Phase
This phase selects and executes certain technologies for datacenter consolidation, virtualization, cooling and power management, and IT infrastructure management. It also involves helping a company to attain LEED certified.

A well thought out green strategy can minimize operational expenses and other hazards. Being green by design can enhance a brands corporate image. However, prior to opting for any green initiatives it is essential to assess the existing greenness of your data center by researching on areas such as facilities, utilization methods, IT equipments and the best practices in use.

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