Did you know that IT is 25 – 55% of a company’s energy consumption, the largest unmanaged expense in the enterprise? IT “plug load” is a huge—and often overlooked—savings opportunity.
The size and corresponding energy usage of data centers has grown tremendously over the past 40 years, from 500 square feet to as large as 400,000 square feet. Conversely, servers have gotten smaller, to the point where a single data center can now house hundreds of rack-mounted servers, as opposed to only a few dozen of their older counterparts. All these servers require an enormous amount of energy.
According to a 2013 report from Digital Power Group, “a single refrigerator-sized rack of servers in a data center already requires more power than an entire home, with the average power per rack rising 40% in the past five years to over 5 kW, and the latest state of the art systems hitting 26kW per rack.”
IT plug load also includes end user computers and monitors, as well as networking equipment. How do you get a handle on all of these devices, and what can you do to monitor and reduce the corresponding energy consumption?
One easy first step is to attend Cisco’s upcoming webcast, “Take a Closer Look at Your IT Plug Load.” During this live online session, you will learn how you can get 100 percent visibility into your organization’s power use and how to:
- Inventory every device on the network to have more visibility into systems and user behavior
- Remotely monitor, measure and manage energy—especially IT use—to reduce operating costs
- Identify power consumption savings opportunities and how to reduce your organization’s carbon footprint
Register for Cisco’s webcast here.
After the webinar, give us a call with your questions. As a Cisco Gold Partner, GTRI’s experts can help you take the next steps to reduce your organization’s IT energy usage from the data center to the desktop and beyond.
