Efficient IT and Power Management

I just learned of a brand-new analyst report (and upcoming webinar) regarding a broad survey of desktop and server power management. I expect that it will completely dwarf the very high-level survey of data center power management products I recently made.

The work is being done by The 451 Group, and sister company Tier 1 Research. The webinar, titled "Power Management 2008-2012 Managing and Monitoring IT Energy Use From the Desktop to the Datacenter" is on September 4 from 12:00 to 1:00pm EST. Register Here.

The webinar appears to coincide with a forthcoming 76 page report from The 451 titled "Eco-Efficient IT: Power Management – 2008-2012". Clearly, Cassatt is part of their wide-ranging analysis. Their summary:

"IT power consumption is causing significant financial, operational and ethical problems for many organizations – and excessive consumption may in future be a compliance issue (accurate measurement of power is required by some planned laws and incentive schemes). However, most organizations have no technology in place for measuring, aggregating and tracking power use; indeed, such technology has only recently become available. IT suppliers have belatedly realized the importance of this issue, and the race is on to develop products and establish them in the marketplace.

"This report examines this topic with a focus on managing power, managing datacenters and investing in and understanding the eco-efficient IT agenda.

"The 451 Eco-Efficient IT (ECO-IT) service tracks and analyzes key developments, from the Kyoto Protocol to datacenter effectiveness, from electricity prices to telepresence. Ecoefficiency is becoming a key consideration for technology vendors, end users, service providers and investors. The 451 Group provides insight to help organizations negotiate this new challenge and profit from the opportunity.

I'm digging the report, simply b/c of the TOC - something everyone should consider reading before undertaking *any* form of IT energy efficiency project:

SECTION 4: Datacenter power management
4.1 Datacenter power management – The technology
4.2 Effectiveness and ROI of datacenter power management
4.2.1 Calculating ROI
4.3 Market development and buyer attitudes
4.4 Reasons to be cautious: Market barriers to datacenter power management adoption
4.5 Toward the energy-aware, dynamic datacenter
4.5.1 The power management policy engine
4.6 Visibility into IT assets, dependencies and policies
4.7 Improving visibility into mechanical and electrical equipment
4.8 Virtualization and power management
4.9 Technical issues associated with virtualization

Like virtualization, power management is not an end-in-and-of-itself. Rather, it should be considered as part of a portfolio of initiatives IT & Facilities management need to consider when considering options.

I'm planning a future post to cover my philosophy of what a truly operationally-efficient data center implies; stay tuned.