May 6, 2008 - Datacenters are not only a fast-growing contributor to global warming but also a drain on corporate profitability, according to a new study, which outlines three strategies for doubling datacenter energy efficiency by 2012.

The report, from management consultancy McKinsey and datacenter research firm Uptime Institute, calls for an immediate overhaul of corporate management practices to improve energy efficiency corporate datacenters. Namely:

1. Include true total cost of ownership in the business-case justification for new IT products and applications
2. Integrate asset management capabilities as seamlessly as security functions
3. Formally move accountability for datacenter expenses and operations to the CIO and appoint an internal "energy czar" with a mandate to double IT energy efficiency by 2012

The report also suggests that equipment manufacturers and industry groups establish uniform metrics, similar to those for automobile fuel consumption, to benchmark and measure datacenter efficiency.

“While the design of the next generation of green datacenters gets a lot of attention and is certainly a worthwhile pursuit, we’re putting forward the case in this report that improving efficiency in existing sites will lower energy usage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions faster and more significantly with less cost,” says Kenneth G. Brill, executive director of Uptime Institute.

Download a PowerPoint of the report here.