Applications are being added each day and that strains computing resources at a scorching pace. An article on at timeonline.co.uk [1] sheds light on this: for every search being conducted on Google, according to Alex Wissner-Gross -- a sharp MIT graduate who is now at Harvard -- opines that for every Google Search done, about 7g of Co2 is released. Extrapolate that with the average number of searches done on Google during a day; it’s mind-boggling.Isn't it?
Add myspace.com, facebook.com and everything else that seems to have occupied every one's mind today at this point of time to the equation and you have nothing less than a disaster waiting to happen. Nicholas Carr, an author, says that the so-called avatar on applications like Second-life, apparently consumes just as much energy as an average Brazilian does. He opines that the actual energy consumption that these web applications consume is still being misrepresented and that a lot of it is still unaccounted for.
Uptime Demand -- I want you to listen to me, all the time: Customers want answers 24/7. The websites have to be on all times. Technology end users have no tolerance towards any sort of a downtime.The Sarbanes Oxley Act does have mandates that stipulate necessary replication, storage and data back-up, especially for financial firms which brings out even more data centres and redundancy in data storage centres.
Intelligent Networks: Networks in the 21st century aren't just a cluster of computers brought together to achieve common computing goals. These networks have to be designed to be able to add an avalanche of traffic; social media involvement; virtual conferencing; virtual meetings; Wi-fi, WiMAX and telepresence.
Total Cost of Ownership -- you pay more than you actually paid for: For most organizations, it is still unclear as to what their investments in IT are fetching them. However, the “cost” per se seems to be a simple two-pronged equation -- the capital costs and the operating costs. If a server is purchased for $1000 that becomes the capital cost and it goes to the purchasing department and the operating expenses (electricity bills, etc) will go to the facilities department. The top management, hence, doesn’t really get the whole picture perched on top, does it? The Uptime Institute [2] estimates that the operating expenses over 3 years for operating and cooling the servers is 1.5 times that of the capital expense -- not including admin costs, support and other elements. Worse still, this multiplier is only going to increase with time.
By the year 2014, it is predicted [3] that the expenses towards energy(operating expenses) are going to make up for 75% of the total cost of ownership and only 25% of this cost is going to be for the capital expenses. Simply put, buying servers or setting data centres isn’t going to be the problem, as much as running and maintaining them.
Energy Efficiency -- Don’t let a crisis teach you lessons: At the time of this writing, customers are “Instant Gratification Junkies”. They need everything yesterday -- with regards to IT installations, computer networks and systems, this translates to an ever thriving, capable and “always-on” network -- a system that can stand and cater to demands 24/7.
But surprisingly, not all organizations have systems capable to handle these increasing demands. Best practices are certainly present that can make IT facilities meet business demands; meet ever burgeoning environment friendly mandates; reduce energy expenses; boost energy efficiency by just following a few practical steps. The steps one ought to take aren’t a fad -- these are basic necessities you’d need to survive in the corporate rat race.
Are you listening?
[1] Revealed: the environmental impact of Google Searches
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