It is convenient for firms to hand over the management unease. One statistic suggests that a typical data centre uses
of their IT systems to the experts, but outsourcing data the same amount of power as the city of Leicester. While this
centres are very power-hungry. Kelly Smith, of centre claim seems a little over-the-top, it illustrates the problem. Given
service provider SmartBunker, seeks answers to the predicted data growth rates and no change in design or method
problems of greening such centres. in which they are powered, the environmental consequences of
data centres could force them and their customers into a corner
T
he big growth area in IT today is outsourcing. If an application from which they cannot escape.
or system can be outsourced or put on the web then most
businesses have either already done it or are considering it. Why are data centres going ‘green’?
The other big trend, of course, is IT’s response to climate change and
the environment. Specialists that provide outsourced services are Many organisations have already implemented Corporate and Social
springing up all over the world to satisfy the demand for outsourced Responsibility (CSR) policies that state a preference for suppliers
services and many are attempting to green their offering to attract with green credentials. In the long-term, as further environmental
customers. What do potential customers of these specialists need legislation is introduced, it is certain that all companies will adopt
to look for to make sure the service is going to meet their operational such a policy. This means that a managed host with an impeccable
and environmental needs? operational record stands a higher chance of being selected
as a supplier of outsourcing services if they have implemented
Is managing IT in-house a game you are going to win? environmental initiatives. For managed hosts, environmental policy
has become a matter of competitive advantage and as a result
Your staff are happy with their PCs, the network is working well there has been a scramble to be green.
and the printers are doing exactly what they’re told to do. Then
the server shuts down unexpectedly and everything very quickly What is ‘greenwash’?
goes to hell in a handcart. The IT manager is in the middle of
building a new database and the system admin is at home with In this rush, many environmental schemes have been adopted
the flu. No one can work out what has happened and rebooting by managed hosts and used to market services to end-users.
the server hasn’t produced the cure that internal support hoped it Some of those schemes are as positive for the environment as
would. The minute hand on the company clock moves inexorably they first appear; others are not. The term ‘greenwash’ describes
round its face while employees occupy their time tidying desk information that is used to present a positive image while hiding
drawers. If this scenario sounds familiar, you are not alone. or deflecting attention away from damage to the environment.
Anyone seeking to outsource server management to a ‘green’
Managing servers in-house can be a nerve racking experience managed host will need to carefully check the operator’s
and with an increasing number of remote workers accessing the marketing material to discover if the operator’s claims genuinely
company server from a variety of computer gadgets, things aren’t make the service they receive green.
set to become easier. A growing number of business managers,
faced with a lifeless server and a temporarily inactive workforce, How can data centres clean up their act?
have concluded that managing complicated IT systems is not
something that they’re all that keen on and have chosen to rid Power derived from fossil fuels is not only environmentally
themselves of the headache through outsourcing. damaging but also expensive, and set to become much more
expensive in the future. Additionally, in some locations, there
Managed hosting simply isn’t enough of it to go round. A lot of innovation that is
happening in data centres right now is all about reducing power.
A managed hosting provider is an industry specialist that installs Even if the main motivation for that activity is cost reduction,
and runs servers in a blue-chip computer room called a data the result has environmental benefits. The second main area of
centre. Companies are able to rent servers from these operators, focus is ensuring the power consumption that can’t be avoided
load all their applications and data onto them and access them is as green as possible.
through a secure Internet connection. Once the servers are
outsourced, business managers are able to let staff use the Power reduction
latest remote access gizmos without having to worry about how
it all works and whether the server is about to go down in a fog Server hardware is largely responsible for the burgeoning power
of burnt out chips, operating system and malware. Organisations costs within the data centre. Chip manufacturers, such as Intel,
can instead concentrate on the business benefits of technology, and hardware integrators, such as IBM, have invested significant
rather than worry about keeping IT systems running. research and development capital to bring products to market
that, while not compromising on performance, require far less
It’s useful but is it green? power to operate. For example, IBM claims power savings of up
to 60% from its new server technology. Not only do the servers
There is, however, a fly in the ointment. As the impact of require less power to run, they also require less power to cool.
commercial and industrial activities on the environment are There is a direct 1:1 relationship between power usage and heat
becoming better understood, IT’s share of responsibility within the output. When one calculates all the power required to operate
overall problem is gaining recognition. A typical data centre is very these technologies over their lifetime and contrast the results
power-hungry and as a result, it is being viewed with increasing with standard or legacy technology, the savings are compelling.
67 | ecoexecutive
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