The Significance of Green IT in the Data Center

The Significance of Green IT in the Data Center
Essentially green IT focuses on the use of Information Technology in an efficient manner that concentrates on
energy savings. Going Green can be both environmentally responsible and cost efficient for the enterprise. A
successful green initiative not only increases the availability of IT infrastructure but also helps reduce costs for the
enterprise. True green IT focuses on reducing the carbon footprint and goes further to educate and engage the
community in the ways of green computing to give back to the community and the environment. It can also be a
platform to bring in a new level of discipline in IT provisioning and management. Green IT has tremendous
significance, whether you're looking at specific practices from power management to virtualization or taking a top-
level look at corporate sustainability goals.
The Green Data Center
Data centers represent the starting point for green IT initiatives in most companies. Data centers are found in
nearly every sector of the economy, including financial services, media, high-tech, universities, and government
institutions. An efficient, well-designed datacenter is important for every organization as it can reduce down-time,
enhance output and reduce operation and maintenance costs. Perhaps the biggest benefit is that a properly
maintained datacenter can save significant capital expenditures by eliminating the need for upgrades.
The key aspect to achieving a Green Data Center is power management. A green data center is a repository for the
storage, management, and dissemination of data in which the mechanical, lighting, electrical, and computer
systems are designed for maximum energy efficiency and minimum environmental impact. As companies spend
the same on cooling in the data centre as they do on electronics, there is a need to optimize and take the green
initiative. Among the other widely reported practices, companies are using to green their IT departments are
power management and the adoption of cloud computing services, or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) projects.
Looking at more long term solutions, the data center footprints can be transformed more sustainable strategies
like consolidation and virtualization.
Is virtualization the answer?
By virtualizing, a single piece of hardware functions as multiple pieces. Different user interfaces isolate portions of
the hardware, and make each one operate as a separate entity. In data centers, installing virtual infrastructure
allows more operating systems and applications to run on fewer servers, which reduces overall energy use and
cooling requirements. Virtualization will be the highest-impact trend changing infrastructure and operations
through 2012, according to Gartner, as it has the potential to play a much larger role in the quest towards Green
Information Technology (IT).
Data center managers will not replace their existing management tools and vendors will have to work to cover
more platforms and help customers manage heterogeneous environments. An enterprise must look at all the
aspects of the environmental impact to achieve energy efficient and clean IT.
Related Links: Service desk services, Information security consulting

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