Computerworld Green IT News

Being green and the madness of crowds

(Mark Gibbs) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:21:00 GMT

Some time ago I had a call with a company that ran data centers they claimed were "green." Their argument for their greenness was they purchased power with green credits, which meant they paid a premium for electricity to fund alternative energy programs. Along with that they had a car park full of solar cells.

eBay develops metric for data center performance

(James Niccolai) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 10:00:00 GMT

There's a maxim in the data center business that you can't manage what you can't measure, and eBay has come up with a new measurement for doing both.

Smart buildings get smarter

rmitchell@computerworld.com (Robert L. Mitchell) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:00:00 GMT

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's new headquarters integrates many state-of-the-art green technologies, including solar panels and wind turbines. Such IT-driven building designs are minimizing energy consumption while optimizing operations.

New data center design boasts 'world's most efficient cooling system'

(Colin Neagle) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 17:38:00 GMT

A new kind of data center claiming to employ "the world's most efficient cooling system" turns the traditionally unbearable "hot aisle" between server racks into a rather pleasant air-conditioned hallway, all the while using significantly less energy.

KPMG: Aims to reduce its carbon footprint by 25% through environmental stewardship

(Bob Violino) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

KPMG has made the use of green technologies a key component of its efforts to optimize its investments in IT, including a data center transformation that is expected to save about 15% in energy costs.

The top Green-IT organizations: Hard-wired to be green

(Ellen Fanning) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

Computerworld's top Green-IT organizations for 2011 have woven energy-saving initiatives into the very fabric of their IT strategies

JM Family: Works to eliminate more than 1,400 physical servers

(Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

JM Family first started to virtualize its data center servers in 2006, and since then, it has eliminated more than 1,400 physical servers and has avoided using more than 5.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.

Prudential Financial: 1,000 servers moved into a virtual environment

(Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

Prudential's green-IT initiatives include using alternative energy sources to help power its data centers. In a project expected to be completed this year, solar panels are being installed at its Roseland, N.J., data center.

Northrop Grumman: Virtualizing or retiring approximately 3,000 servers

(Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

Northrop Grumman's "greeNG" sustainability program aims to reduce the firm's greenhouse gas emissions, manage automatically its desktop power and migrate some 100 server rooms and data centers to just three enterprise data centers.

State Street: Compression technology helped cut storage use by 50%

(Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

State Street is using compression and deduplication technologies to reduce stored data, tackling a multiyear virtualization program and implementing processing on demand, an infrastructure as a service that provides on-demand capacity.

Raytheon: Boosting data center temperatures cuts energy use by 30%

(Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

Raytheon's IT team took cues from the company's initiatives for data center energy efficiency and applied the same steps to other areas, focusing on its networking and telecommunications infrastructure during the past year.

Nixon Peabody: 300 physical servers were swapped for 30 VMware ESX servers

(Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

Nixon Peabody's IT department centralized its data centers, consolidated its storage assets and virtualized its servers. Its work cut power consumption by approximately 30%.

Citigroup: Desktop standardization cuts energy costs by $6 million per year

(Bob Violino) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

As part of a data center transformation project, Citigroup's newly constructed data center uses 800 kilowatts less power than conventionally designed data centers for the same footprint, for a 30% reduction in energy costs.

Baker Hughes: Wake-on-LAN technology has resulted in 40% energy savings

(Bob Violino) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

Baker Hughes weaves energy reduction into its internal IT strategies, using a four-pronged approach of awareness, planning, harvesting and prevention.

Allstate: Reduces nearly 3,000 servers or devices in 18 months

(Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

Over the past 18 months, Allstate Insurance consolidated its four data centers into two and recently earned LEED Gold certification for its data center in Rochelle, Ill.

Kaiser Permanente: Slashes data center power by 7.2 million kilowatt-hours

(Robert L. Mitchell) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

Specialized green-IT teams at this healthcare company crank out dozens of eco-friendly ideas. The initiatives they spawn range from changes in the data center that yield big savings of power and money to a decision to use biodegradable eating utensils in dining areas.

NBC Universal: Retired or recycled 47 tons of hardware

(Robert L. Mitchell) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

At NBC Universal, a new data center replaced 300,000 feet of copper cable and a multisite telepresence system cut internal travel budgets by as much as 80% in some divisions.

How CIOs can help curb e-waste

(Candace Labelle) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

CIOs play an important role in controlling e-waste through purchasing and life-cycle management decisions, as well as community outreach initiatives.

The Green IT movement has lost the plot

(David Moschella) — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:41:00 GMT

E-waste is a serious problem for IT, but energy seems to be getting all the attention. It's time to turn that around, one industry watcher says.

Feds to use IT buying power to push green

pthibodeau@computerworld.com (Patrick Thibodeau) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 10:00:00 GMT

The U.S. government has been urging green IT practices in its operations, consolidating data centers and offering telecommuting. Now it wants to go a step further and use its formidable buying power to encourage IT vendors to go green.

Facebook reveals specs for new data center

(Robert McMillan and Sharon Gaudin) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 10:00:00 GMT

Facebook is sharing some of the secrets that help make the custom-built servers and power systems in its Prineville, Ore., data center among the most efficient in the world.

8 radical ways to cut data center power costs

(Mel Beckman) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:07:00 GMT

One or more of these wild-eyed approaches could save you a lot of money -- and not cost you much

Green memories accelerate ROI for data centers

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:44:00 GMT

Hundreds of thousands of KWh are being consumed by the use of memory components in servers today. By adopting more energy-efficient components in optimized server architectures, such as lower voltage DRAMs and advanced solid-state drives (SSDs), data centers can drastically reduce power consumption and associated energy costs.

Energy efficiency -- no longer an afterthought

(Pat Kohl) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:39:00 GMT

Modern energy efficient technologies are becoming the norm, and most businesses understand that implementing "green IT" helps the environment and the bottom line. But many IT professionals lack a tool that is critical to understanding the full impact of energy efficient practices.

Use BI tools to analyze green programs, study says

(Mitch Betts) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:00:00 GMT

Business intelligence systems can be used to analyze data about a company's progress in meeting its environmental goals.

What you missed: Energy-efficient Ethernet has arrived, with real savings

(Bill Snyder) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 11:09:00 GMT

The No. 6 top sleeper tech story of 2010

Viridity Software's new CEO: It's not all about green IT

(Bob Brown) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 00:13:00 GMT

New CEO Arun Oberoi doesn't exactly bristle at Viridity Software getting lumped into the Green IT vendor category, but he wants to make sure the Burlington, Mass., company is seen as more than that.

Green IT metrics proliferate: CUE and WUE join PUE

(James Niccolai and Peter Sayer) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:00:00 GMT

The Green Grid consortium -- creator of a widely used energy-efficiency metric -- is rolling out new metrics for carbon emissions and water usage by data centers.

Greenpeace Rates Climate-Change Leaders and Laggards

(Thomas Wailgum) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 18:12:00 GMT

Cisco, Ericsson and Fujitsu earn top honors for their efforts in climate solutions, remote collaboration and telecommuting offerings.

Data center infrastructure management tools eliminate inefficiencies

(Jon Temple, president and CEO, nlyte Software) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:25:00 GMT

There is a disease in the data center: skyrocketing energy costs, inefficient infrastructure management tools and the unknown effects of looming regulatory action in the United States.

Cisco bets state-of-the-art data center on UCS

(John Dix) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:06:00 GMT

Cisco bet big on its UCS products for data centers – and now it's going "all in" with a massive, resilient and green data center built on that integrated blade architecture.

Top 12 green IT products

(Beth Schultz) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:52:00 GMT

A dozen nitty gritty tools and technologies that cut energy costs, boost data center efficiency and promote green IT practices.

The Top Green-IT Organizations: Green from the ground up

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

Computerworld's Top Green-IT Organizations where chosen among nearly 100 applicants, each striving to find new ways to reduce energy consumption in their IT equipment and use technology to conserve energy.

2010 Green-IT Quiz

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

Take Computerworld's Top Green-IT quiz and get some ideas from the Top Green-IT Organizations for making your company greener.

How we picked the Top Green-IT Organizations

(Ellen Fanning) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

The survey methodology for Computerworld's Top Green-IT Organizations.

Pacific Gas & Electric: Data center divvied up into blade-server pods

(Robert L. Mitchell) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

Pacific Gas & Electric, one of Computerworld's Top Green-IT Organizations, presets its printers to save ink and paper, and its servers run in a virtualized environment.

Top 12 Green-IT Vendors 2010

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

Technology vendors and data center suppliers who are reducing energy consumption by their IT equipment.

Technology's role as energy game-changer

(Jonathan Koomey) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

Environmental expert Jonathan Koomey describes technology's ability to create beneficial environmental effects that vastly outweigh the direct environmental impact of the electricity that it consumes.

Citigroup: Green-IT strategy extends to network wiring redesign

(Mary Brandel) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

Citigroup, one of Computerworld's 2010 Top Green-IT Organizations, will redesign its data center floor by relocating network switches to the server cabinet, reducing the purchase and use of copper, and cutting power consumption by as much as 50%.

Allstate Insurance: Software decisions play into green strategies

(Mary Brandel) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

Allstate Insurance, one of Computerworld's Top Green-IT Organizations, has eliminated 1,500 physical servers, and it built a LEED Gold-certified data center as part of a data center consolidation project..

PricewaterhouseCoopers: Chopped carbon footprint by 20% in two years

(Robert L. Mitchell) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

PricewaterhouseCoopers, ranked No. 1 on Computerworld's list of Top Green-IT Organizations, reduced its carbon footprint by 20% in just two years.

Earth Rangers: Greens up with virtualization, plus geothermal power

(Mary Brandel) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

Earth Rangers, one of Computerworld's Top Green-IT Organizations, has created a highly virtualized data center that eliminates 90% of the hardware and nearly 85% of the energy costs that a conventional server deployment would require.

State of Indiana: Standardizing PCs helped save money, reduce carbon emissions

(Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

The state of Indiana, one of Computerworld's Top Green-IT Organizations, standardized PCs throughout its nearly 80 agencies, allowing for centralization and remote support, and saving nearly $200,000 in the first year of the project.

George Washington University: Working toward 80% server virtualization

(Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

George Washington University, one of Computerworld's Top Green-IT Organizations, has virtualized about 65% of its servers, saving more than 800,000 kilowatt-hours annually.

Marriott: New software will manage server power consumption

(Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

Marriott, one of Computerworld's 2010 Top Green-IT Organizations, has switched many of its data center chillers to a closed loop-based system. That saves thousands of gallons of water each year and cuts power consumption by about 10%.

Northrop Grumman: PCs, laptops and peripherals must meet green standards

(Bob Violino) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

Northrop Grumman, one of Computerworld's Top Green-IT Organizations, is deploying only PCs, laptops and peripherals that achieve gold or silver ratings based on assessments using the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool.

Union Pacific: With updated equipment, capacity rises and power use drops

(Bob Violino) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

Union Pacific, one of Computerworld's Top Green-IT Organizations, has cut power consumption in its data center by about 14%, while increasing computing capacity by approximately 200%.

Baker Hughes: Print service program to save nearly $3M per year

(Bob Violino) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 GMT

Baker Hughes Inc., one of Computerworld's 2010 Top Green-IT Organizations, has reduced its CO₂ emissions by an estimated 7,500 metric tons and saved $1.1 million in energy costs in the first year of its green-IT initiatives.

Gartner: The bell tolls for Windows XP

pthibodeau@computerworld.com (Patrick Thibodeau) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 10:00:00 GMT

There are a number of IT trends users will see in coming years, but one that's expected to rise to the top will be the need to migrate off Windows XP and Office 2003 as the end of support nears.

Ice balls help data center go green

rmitchell@computerworld.com (Robert L. Mitchell) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 10:00:00 GMT

One of the largest commercial data centers in the U.S., I/O Data Center's Phoenix facility is a former bottling plant that uses numerous green technologies, from photovoltaic solar panels to giant vats of ice balls that cool the data center.