Energy efficient data centres rewarded

Gartner opens up nominations for Green Data Centre Excellence Award

Nominations are now open for the inaugural Gartner Green Data Centre Excellence Award, to be presented at the Gartner Infrastructure Operations and Data Centre Summit in Sydney in March 2010.

Designed to promote excellence in ‘green IT’ principles within the data centre, the award will recognise organisations in the Asia Pacific region that have demonstrated best practice in using green technologies and practices.

The Green Data Centre Excellence Award is open to organisations large or small, private or public sector, in any industry. Technology vendors or service providers are not eligible; however they are encouraged to assist their customers in submitting an application.

Gartner managing vice president Matthew Boon said that despite the economic downturn, green issues remained a high priority for data centre managers.

“Green IT initiatives in the data centre have moved beyond a tick in the box, to being at the centre of IT investments,” said Mr. Boon.

“Reducing costs remains the primary rationale for greening the data centre in 2009. However 2010 and beyond will see corporate social responsibility and government legislation increasingly driving green IT projects and associated investment,” said Boon.

A recent Gartner survey of large organisations around the world found that most green IT projects were not being shelved due to the downturn. For example in Australia, 51 percent of those surveyed expected their green IT investments to remain the same, with another 38 percent expecting increased investment in this area during 2009.

Finalists will be asked to present their case study to conference delegates at the Infrastructure and Operations Data Centre Summit in Sydney, 24 – 25 March 2010. Summit attendees will vote to select a winner from the finalists and a winner will be announced at the conference.