Pike Research has launched its Green IT Advisory Service, a subscription-based information tool that provides market intelligence and strategy insights for companies seeking to improve the energy efficiency of information technology operations, as well as those looking to leverage IT for energy management applications. The service analyzes opportunities for greener data centers, telecommunications networks, and electronics products, as well as emerging markets for IT in energy management and smart grid systems, among others.

“The global IT industry faces a unique opportunity to reduce its own energy costs and carbon footprint, in addition to having a substantial impact on the energy efficiency of other industries,” says managing director Clint Wheelock. “Energy has often been an afterthought in IT circles, however it is fast becoming a key priority as well as a significant business opportunity.”

As part of its Green IT service, Pike Research’s industry analysts offer timely and actionable market insights, covering specific technology and business sectors as well as overall market conditions and trends. Research reports include an in-depth examination of business models, technology issues, policy and regulatory factors, the competitive landscape, and market sizing, segmentation and forecasting.

A key differentiator of Pike Research’s coverage, says Wheelock, is its unique blend of qualitative and quantitative research. The new service offers significantly more granularity and depth of analysis than traditional IT analyst research, and provides clients with perspectives from the firm’s broader coverage of the cleantech and energy industries.

A few of Pike Research’s key forecasts about the emerging Green IT market include the following:
  • Green data center investment will grow to represent 28% of the total worldwide data center market within the next five years, increasing in value from $7.5 billion annually in 2009 to $41.4 billion by 2015.
  • Carbon management software and services will also be increasingly adopted by enterprises in the coming years, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 40% between 2009 and 2017.
  • Fixed and mobile telecommunications network operators are utilizing more energy efficient infrastructure equipment in addition to renewable energy power sources. By 2014, 4.5% of the world’s mobile base stations will be powered by renewable energy.
  • Utilities will invest $21 billion in smart grid cyber security during the period between 2010 and 2015, as the industry works to address the vulnerability of the electrical grid to hackers, terrorists, natural disasters, and other threats.
  • Energy Management Systems (EMS) are being utilized by commercial building property managers to optimize energy consumption in their facilities. Pike Research estimates that the EMS market is currently only 14% penetrated, providing a significant opportunity for new industry players.
Pike Research’s Green IT Advisory Service analyzes emerging trends and business models related to the opportunity for greater energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions in the global information technology industry. Areas of focus include energy efficiency solutions for data center operations, telecommunications networks, and the global electronics supply chain, as well as an examination of the opportunities for IT to be harnessed for energy management and smart grid systems. The service also provides quantification of the energy efficiency benefits for telecommuting, videoconferencing, and cloud computing. The service includes access to more than 15 of the firm’s in-depth Research Reports per year, in addition to unlimited Analyst Inquiry access.