BIZCHINA> Review & Analysis
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BIZCHINA> Review & Analysis
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Log onto green
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-31 14:02 When research firm IDC last year launched a program called Emerging Technology Advisory Services in the Asia-Pacific region to identify the most promising trends and issues reshaping the IT industry in the next three to five years, the global drive to save energy and reduce pollution easily took the pride of place. "We have received a number of inquiries from customers wanting to know how green initiatives will impact their IT business," says Kitty Fok, vice-president of IDC Greater China research. "I think the trend of green IT is still in its infancy but will see huge growth in the next couple of years, making it a perfect subject for research companies like us." With rising energy prices and increasing environmental awareness beginning to impact the business models of traditional smokestack industries like manufacturing and heavy engineering, researchers and IT industry players have started taking note of it as well. At industry forums and product launches by companies such as IBM, HP and Dell in China in the past few months, top officials -from global CEOs to regional directors - have all been stressing green IT as one of the most important trends deserving closer attention. "We have seen a dramatic increase in the interest level of customers - whether they are from the public sector, multinationals or even smaller companies - who are keen to learn how to utilize green IT," says Michel Dell, CEO of Dell Inc. "I think it is a global trend and I definitely see it on the rise here in China." Too hot Green IT first emerged as a solution for companies troubled by skyrocketing electricity bills and hardware maintenance costs as a result of expansion of their faster, but more energy-hungry, IT equipment such as servers and data centers. According to Sun Microsystems, a typical rack of servers installed in data centers just two years ago might have consumed a modest 2 kW of power while producing 40 watt of heat per square foot. Newer, high-density racks, expected to be in use by the end of the decade, could easily consume as much as 25 kW and generate as much as 500 watt of heat per square foot. As a result of these superfast energy-guzzlers, electricity is set to become the second highest in terms of costs in 70 percent of the world's data centers by 2009 - trailing personnel costs but well ahead of IT hardware costs - according to research firm Gartner. In China, it could be worse. The country's booming economy in recent decades has prompted the government, local companies and multinationals to significantly increase their IT investments to support larger business demands, making the country one of the world's fastest growing markets for servers and data centers. (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
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