The economic crisis in 2008 gave an extra impulse to companies implementing 'green' data center practices, with reduced energy consumption leading to lower bills, cites a November 3rd article inThe New York Times titled, "Data Centers Tighten Energy Belts." The hostile economic climate turned out to be a catalyst for green information technology, the article said.

This worldwide initiative of implementing 'green' technology for financial savings is not the only benefit, indicates market research firm SBI Energy in the study, ICT Energy Efficiency: Commercial and Industrial. Improving energy efficiency not only results in direct savings from energy cost avoidance, but also creates other financial benefits.

Information and communications technologies (ICT) can be employed to capture, analyze, and respond to vast amounts of data which can lead to optimized energy use within large, energy-reliant sectors such as power, industry, and logistics. Additionally, the adoption of ICT products and technologies can reduce energy consumption across sectors by enabling smart buildings, dematerialization, and travel substitution. Meanwhile, various innovations and trends occurring within the ICT sector will reduce the energy consumption of ICT products themselves.

In 2010, the use of energy efficient ICT products resulted in global ICT sector energy savings of 262 billion kilowatt hours. With continued adoption, SBI Energy analysis forecasts energy savings to exceed 895 billion kilowatt hours in 2015. This represents a 38 percent reduction in the potential global energy consumption due to the use of ICT products in 2015 relative to business-as-usual growth over the 2005 baseline. Concurrently, the reductions in carbon emissions are projected to grow from 151 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2010 to over 517 million tonnes in 2015.

Bernard Geoghegan, head of international operations at Digital Realty Trust (D.R.T.)--one of the biggest data center groups in the world--toldThe New York Times,"Not only is [instituting 'green' data centers] an excellent marketing device for prospective customers, but the added benefit of efficiency means we cut costs, saving D.R.T., and customers, money."