John Phelps, a leading research vice president in Gartner Research notes the recent upswing in attendance to the conference discussion he leads at the Gartner Data Center Conference. The topic? Green Data Center.

Gartner Data Center conferences are held annually and are widely considered one of the most attended events in the industry; typically the conference sees attendees of 2,000 or more and close to 100 different exhibitors.  John goes on to mention that historically conference attendees were a mix of a few IT managers who were viewing the Green Data Center for its environmental impact and the possibility to save money by reducing the needs for resources and cutting energy costs. Now we have both says John; the first group who are looking to reduce their costs and the others who realize that regulation is right around the corner.

The interest in Green IT and the Green Data Center has clearly risen significantly in the past few years. Companies are coming to the realization that not only is it their fiscal and environmental responsibility but educating themselves now and working towards data center efficiency will make the task that much easier if and when mandatory regulations are put in place. In CDW’s third annual energy Efficient IT report which surveyed 756 IT Professionals in both the public and private arenas, the report cited 79% of companies are in either in the process of consolidating their data center or have a roadmap to do so. While the costs continue rising worldwide, it comes as no surprise that reducing their energy use is the primary goal. While the green data center and green technologies are on the rise currently there are no standards or certifications to measure against. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or (LEED) is an internationally recognized methodology for providing third party verification that a building is designed for energy and water efficiency as well as reduced carbon dioxide emissions and an improved indoor environment. At the present time LEED does not have a data center certification but efforts ARE underway in developing this.

The Environmental Protection Agency or EPA is currently working with the Department of Energy to create a voluntary standard of Energy Star Ratings for data centers.  This system will allow IT managers and professionals alike to assess their data center’s energy efficiency against others worldwide. Keep in mind, although initially voluntary, it is likely that at some point this will become mandatory.

While I would like to think that Green IT is something we all are eager and willing to do, the fact remains that the push for Greener TechServices comes down to two things: Cost and Compliance.

Continue your efforts and education towards Green IT my friend, someday you WILL need it.