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Government Addresses Data Center Power Costs
By Ed Silverstein TMCnet Contributor
With an eye to improving efficiency, the U.S. government has closed some 39 government data centers in the first four months of this year and expects to close 98 more by December.
The closing of the data centers is part of an effort by the Obama administration to reduce waste and improve efficiency by the consolidation of data centers, according to a recent report in DataCenterKnowledge.com.
It doesn’t end there. The nation’s first Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra said 800 of the federal government’s 2,094 data centers are expected to be shut down by 2015.
The workloads will be moved over to what officials say is the more efficient cloud computing platform or to those data centers which were designed to be more efficient.
The government wants to opt for a cloud solution, if possible, if it is practical and will provide adequate security.
Some 15 federal agencies already listed about 950,000 mailboxes and over 100 e-mail systems that will move to the cloud.
To ensure the process works properly, the government will have a “marketplace” for efficient use of data center space, DataCenterKnowledge.com said.
“This online marketplace will match agencies with extra capacity to agencies with increasing demand, thereby improving the utilization of existing facilities,” according to a federal implementation plan.
In the end, the plan promises to save the government – and taxpayers – a lot of money.
The Office of Management and Budget’s has given a 2015 deadline to consolidate data centers, and it is estimated that $18.8 billion can be saved with consolidation.
The federal government is not the only sector in the economy trying to find savings by consolidation and smarter uses of technology.
Yet there are many companies that are tackling the issues of data center costs and working to promote efficient solutions.
TMCnet recently reported that as costs for data center power increase and demand rises exponentially, data center managers in diverse fields are trying to make data centers more economical and reduce their expenses.
“Their interest in efficiency is really about saving money and cost,” Server Technology’s (News - Alert) Senior Director of Software and Firmware Engineering Calvin Nicholson told TMCnet in a recent interview. “We like to believe that they want to save the Earth and that they are green, and I think some of the California companies take that seriously, but in general it’s because they see that it’s really affecting their bottom line.”
As a result, companies like Server Technology have been increasing what they monitor and are considering implementing virtualization projects.
Ed Silverstein is a TMCnet contributor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Carrie Schmelkin
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