Data Centre Specialist Group

IBM has launched its 'Big Green' IT energy efficiency initiative and plans to redirect $1bn per year across its businesses to increase energy efficiency in IT. IBM plans to double the energy efficiency (or halve the inefficiency?) of its own 8 million square foot IT infrastructure by 2010. IBM claims that clients should be able to achieve 42 percent energy saving using their methods. 

The initiative involves retasking 850 'green team' 'energy efficiency architects' from across IBM to the program.

The IBM approach includes a range of measures and technology;

•  energy use and heat output measurement to optimise cooling
• virtualisation technology to improve utilisation
• air flow assessment to reduce the impact of cabling on cooling air flow
• blade centres
• 'stored cooling' to reduce cooling costs and improve efficiency
• liquid cooling solutions

Whilst little of this is new and some is simple re-presentation of existing technologies the move is encouraging. IBM have clearly seen significant customer demand for energy efficient systems and data centres which signals a growing understanding amongst IT customers of the power density and energy efficiency problem.

This move by IBM is also likely to drive the other key vendors in the market to address the issue of efficiency. How much of this will be the inevitable dressing up of old product in green clothes and how much will be genuine innovation that directly addresses the problem remains to be seen however.

You can find the IBM release here; IBM Unveils Plan to Combat Data Center Energy Crisis; Allocates $1 Billion to Advance "Green" Technology and Services