12.5
the amount, in tonnes, of CO2 emitted by the average server within a business every year –
in comparison, a family car emits 3.5 tonnes of CO2 per year
1.2
a physical server typically uses 1.2 amps of electricity while it is working
2%
the IT resources that companies rely on are responsible for about two percent of all global
CO2 emissions - the same level as the airline industry
The wider picture for virtualisation
“the results that virtualisation can
Power companies are also looking at how they can encourage
deliver in terms of cost savings are
companies to be more efficient in their use of electricity. A good
substantial, and will only grow as the
example of this is Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), which has
cost of power continues to go up.
instituted a rebate scheme for its customers that move over to
virtualized data centres. For each virtual machine implemented,
in 2007, VMware estimated that for
PG&E estimates that the customer will save between $300
every virtual machine a company
and $600 per year in energy costs, on top of the rebate that is
available. This is a sizable opportunity - the initial scheme offers
deploys, it saves about £330 in power
up to $4million back to customers that fully virtualise their data
and cooling costs per year. part of
centres.
this is in straight power costs that
While it seems strange that a power company is discouraging its
are no longer required, but there is
customers from buying power, PG&E can actually save money by
also a reduction in the amount of
supplying less to its customers. This is because the cost of buying
wholesale power in the US can be the most significant overhead
air conditioning that is needed. with
to energy providers, so reducing this volume can potentially help
rising power costs in 2008, this amount
the company be more profitable. In the wider market, more energy
will also increase.”
providers in the US and in the UK are looking at implementing
similar schemes to encourage energy efficiency. Asking your
energy provider about their incentives to be more efficient can be
a good bargaining tool, as well as finding out what “green” energy
schemes they are running.
The IT resources that companies rely on are responsible for about
two percent of all global CO2 emissions, according to analyst firm
Gartner – this is the same level as the airline industry, which is
coming under increasing pressure for regulation, whether this is
from the industry itself or imposed by governments.
If businesses do not start voluntarily reducing their emissions, they
will be forced to by government regulations. Moving to sustainable
energy supplies is one way to meet their own internal corporate
social responsibility pressures, but the flipside of this is making the
best use of any energy that is used. By being smarter in their use
of IT, organisations can achieve this aim.
The amount that businesses depend on their IT to be successful
means that companies will have to invest in more energy-efficient
ways to support their requirements. By using approaches such as
virtualisation, organisations are making the best use of the energy
that they purchase in order to achieve their business goals. n
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