Caveat Emptor, Green Data Center Watchers….

St. Patricks day is just around the corner and their is no question that ‘Green’ is clearly in focus.   Greenm3 posted an article that interestingly was calling out the nice things Microsoft is attempting to do in the sustainability space.   Essentially it highlights that Microsoft is leveraging its position at the top of the software food chain to put emphasis on green and sustainability efforts.   It also mentions Steve Ballmer’s efforts at CEBIT to highlight those same things.   More interesting to me in the article was the fact that IBM responded to Ballmer CEBIT talk.   I definitely get the sense that IBM responding to something as inane as Ballmer’s statements around sustainability really just highlights one of two things.  One, that IBM is worried about Microsoft’s entry into the sustainability marketing-world in full force and is aggressively trying to counteract anything they say immediately, or that that Two, they are fearful of their own messaging in this space.   Regardless – I view this an interesting development.  A sort of first battle of the Greenwash Wars of 2008.    While IBM and Microsoft are seemingly just starting their shots at each other, its no different than what companies like Yahoo, Google, HP, and others are all calling “green” solutions especially in the data center space.  Either with specific products, or investments in green-tech, being viewed as the most green is turning out to be an interesting battle.   

IBM is doing great things about reducing power per server, but they are strangely silent and even quiet on data centers at large.  In my opinion its probably because their 8M square feet are older facilities and therefore are inherently worse off from a PUE perspective than say Microsoft’s brand new data centers.    Microsoft in turn through their own design practices espouse splitting multiple functions across multiple servers, hardly a green practice.   Google hasnt done squat but talk about alternative green energy investments with nothing for the industry.  HP, DELL, and others are struggling mightily to show how their new systems are green – changing more messaging than technology. The fact is that everyone has room for improvement. It should prove a great and important warning shot for all of us out here who have to suffer through the impending  noise from the manufacturers. 

Caveat Emptor, my friends, Caveat Emptor.