March 11, 2008 - Manufacturers of power-hungry networking equipment such as Ethernet switches have much to gain from engineering more energy-efficient products, according to a new report from research firm In-Stat. The report finds that switch vendors who address energy efficiency earliest will gain significant competitive advantage as IT managers increasingly factor power consumption into their purchasing decisions.

"Green Networking Equipment: Who Leads and Who Lags" evaluates power consumption across a range of products, finding that energy use among similarly equipped switches capable of performing identical tasks can vary widely depending on the vendor.

"As many businesses develop green initiatives using best practices published by organizations like the Green Grid, IT managers will be forced to absorb some degree of responsibility for their organization’s power usage," says Victoria Fodale, an In-Stat analyst. "The role of energy efficiency will grow considerably in importance for future equipment purchases."

To purchase the full report, which includes energy use comparisons of products by vendor, click here.