Efficiency measures in the data centre have more than doubled in importance over the last five years, according to research by Computacenter, Europe’s leading independent provider of IT infrastructure services. 71% of IT decision makers rate efficient IT in the data centre as ‘very important’ today compared to just 34% five years ago, indicating a significant change in how companies perceive IT priorities today.

“With rising costs, organisations are doing their best to keep their IT running but in the most efficient and economic way possible,” says Neil Eke, Director of Data Centre Solutions at Computacenter. “Whilst there are a number of ways to enhance efficiency – including virtualisation and automation – many organisations are focusing on power efficiency in particular. For example, 55% of organisations cited power efficiency as their number one priority in the data centre for the next three to five years.”

The research, conducted amongst 250 IT decision makers at IP Expo highlights that only 5% of UK organisations rate efficient IT as unimportant, citing other projects or short-term expense as the main barriers.

According to the survey, IT managers clearly understand the need for power efficiency, and also rated alternative heating, lighting and power sources such as wind and solar power amongst their top priorities for the coming years (11% and 17% respectively). However, as organisations optimise Power Usage Effectiveness (PuE) and make the most of their existing energy consumption, there is little doubt that these will inevitably begin to work their way up the data centre manager’s agenda.

“Data centres are often regarded as a utility headache, with power costs rising year on year,” continued Eke. “It is unsurprising that not only are organisations putting data centre efficiency to the top of their lists in the next three to five years, but also starting to consider alternative heating, lighting and power sources, as well as other options such as water cooling. It is only by being enterprising and thinking about how to make IT as economic as possible, and taking advantage of natural resources – such as wind power and solar energy – that we can play our part in the larger sustainability equation.”

About Computacenter
Computacenter is Europe’s leading independent provider of IT infrastructure services. We can advise customers on their IT strategy, implement the most appropriate technology from a wide range of leading vendors and manage their technology infrastructures on their behalf. At every stage we make our customers’ businesses sharper by removing cost, complexity and barriers to change across their IT infrastructures. Our corporate and government clients are served by offices across the UK <http://www.computacenter.co.uk/>, Germany <http://www.cc-compunet.de/>, France <http://www.computacenter.fr/>, the Benelux countries, Spain and South Africa. We also serve our customers’ global requirements through our extensive partner network.

For more information:
Rocket Communications
Alex Brooks / Amy McKenna
Computacenter@rocketcomms.net
08453 707 024
@Computacenter

Further Information

Rocket
Christian Sharp
Consultant
Tel: 0203 008 7337
Email: Christian@Rocketcomms.net

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