| March 5, 2010
Aussies make a green shortlist
Insurance Australia Group, Reliance Communications, and CLP Power Hong Kong have been included on a shortlist of three finalists in Gartner's inaugural Green Data Centre Awards for the Asia/Pacific region.
Gartner has established the awards to promote excellence in green IT principles within the data centre and to recognise organisations in the region that have demonstrated best practice in using green technologies and practices, explained vice president Matthew Boon.
Despite perceptions that green IT projects slipped down the list of business priorities due to the tougher economic climate, a 2009 survey found that the downturn had no impact on green initiatives for 61 per cent of large organisations in Asia/Pacific, Boon explained. "In Australia, 51 per cent of those surveyed expected their green IT investments to remain the same, with another 38 per cent expecting increased investment in this area," he added.
The winner of the award will be announced at Gartner's Infrastructure, Operations, and Data Centre Summit in Sydney on March 24 and 25. www.gartner.com/ap/datacentre
Facebook feels the heat over power
Social networking operator Facebook has become the target of Greenpeace's wrath after admitting that it has entered a contract to use coal-powered electricity in a data centre it is having built in Oregon. To make matters worse, Facebook had announced that the new centre would use a number of energy-efficient technologies, including a water evaporation system and naturally-occurring cold air from the exterior of the building.
Greenpeace also made use of Facebook technology in its campaign by linking to a Facebook fan pace to help drum up support.
Green Grid releases free tools
Energy-efficiency advocate The Green Grid has launched a number of free tools that are intended to help data centre managers improve the green credentials of their operations. The tools include:
* A Power Efficiency Estimator that is intended to help data centre operators compare different power technologies as they could be applied in their own facilities; and
* A PUE Estimator that will allow data centre managers to determine their power usage effectiveness. It is hoped that the ease of use of this tool will lead to its use regularly. www.thegreengrid.org
Crisis tightens vendors' focus
The recent financial crisis has not caused ICT companies to push the green agenda down their priority lists but instead has made them pay more attention to environmental initiatives, according to a recent study by Frost & Sullivan. The companies changed their focus in order to save costs and improve differentiation, as well as to enforce brand loyalty, the study found. www.frost.com
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