Corporates plan for green data centers & credits

DRT Shares Green Study Results

April 22, 2008 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Data center operator Digital Realty Trust (digitalrealtytrust.com) released on Monday the results from a new study it conducted on green data center trends that "show significant changes since 2007."


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Appropriately released in time for Earth Day on April 22, Digital Realty Trust says the study's findings are based on a survey of senior decision makers at leading North American companies who are directly responsible for data center strategy, planning and technology.

Digital Realty Trust conducted a similar study in 2007 - which it believes is one of the first in-depth analyses of green trends in the data center industry - and says that at the time, many respondents expressed concern about the lack of industry standards for green data centers.

"The impact of [last year's] concern is very evident in this year's survey," says Jim Smith, VP of engineering at Digital Realty Trust. "Companies are looking for leadership and clarity on how to define a green data center, how to design their green data center plans and how to put them into action. In the past, the question may have been how to convince companies of the value of green data centers. The good news is that is no longer a problem. Companies are convinced. The challenge is that the data center industry needs to step up and show the way with clear standards."

Considering the increased visibility and momentum organizations like The Green Grid (thegreengrid.org) have been making with its initiatives to develop energy efficiency metrics and best practices for the data center industry, as well as options like LEED and Energy Star certifications, it can be said that at the very least, data center operators will be given more guidance with how to develop their green IT strategies.

The study shows that 51 percent of companies have a green data center strategy, a decline since the 2007 study when 55 percent of companies answered the question affirmatively. Of the companies that do have a green data center strategy, 82 percent are taking a holistic approach that encompasses not only servers and other data center hardware, but also facility design and data center operations. This is nearly identical to the 2007 metric, says Digital Realty Trust, indicating that companies understand the value of taking a comprehensive approach that maximizes energy efficiency by addressing not just the equipment in the data center, but the facility itself.

The study also found that 18 percent of companies are planning to include carbon credits in their green data center plans, down from a figure of 25 percent in 2007, which could indicate that companies are focusing on directly reducing their actual data center energy consumption rather than displacing it through carbon credits solutions.