76 Percent of U.K. Data Centers Do Not Envision Energy Cutbacks in 2012

While some companies become trailblazers of new technological trends, others are more leery about adopting largely unproven platforms: They procrastinate, deterred by the fear that firms positioned at the front of the pack today may become loss leaders tomorrow—having “backed the wrong horse” in pursuit of fast gains.

Thus, while Amsterdam-based Interxion Holdings NV has just announced that its London data center is powered 100 percent by renewable energy sources, many more United Kingdom-based ICT providers still are not on track to go green.

Photo courtesy of Data Centre World Conference

Specifically, over three-quarters (76 percent) of U.K. data centers will fail to cut energy consumption in 2012, according to a new survey conducted by the research firm Gartner on behalf of the Data Centre World Conference 2012, which is due to convene again, February 29 through March 1, at the Olympia exhibition center in London.

The research into future energy usage trends by U.K. data center operators found that:

• The vast majority (76 percent) of the UK’s data centers expect their energy consumption to increase, or remain the same in 2012;
• Of these, more than a fifth (21 percent) predict that their energy consumption will increase by 25 percent or more during this year; 
• Almost a third (31 percent) are unaware of the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) rate of their data center facilities; and
• More than 46 percent either have not achieved PUE targets, or do not have a target PUE level in place.

Just over half (51 percent) of respondents admitted either that they knew nothing about their PUE, or that they had a below-average PUE rating (above 2.0). Unsurprisingly, the majority (61 percent) of those surveyed admitted they had yet to achieve either their target PUE level, or even a satisfactory PUE level.

John Hatcher, Data Centre World conference director said: “Although the UK has some of the most advanced data centres in the world, the survey shows there is still a great deal of work that needs to be done. If we’re to see a credible reduction in data center carbon footprint in our lifetime, the industry needs to embrace innovative green technologies available to cool and power facilities across the UK.”

The Data Centre World Conference is now in its fifth year of successful operation. Admission is free. The conference helps data center managers and professionals plan, implement, and manage their existing and future data center requirements. For more information, visit the conference website.  

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