For 'Green IT Week' Aussie organisation launches international data centre power certification

IT MAY NOT have received much mainstream publicity, but this is International Green IT Awareness Week and significant announcements have been made - especially the news that environmental power certification has been established for data centres.

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Mark Winter, Foundation for IT Sustainability CEO.

 

It is the work of Australia-based Foundation for IT Sustainability (FFITS.org), a non-profit organisation known primarily for developing the first Green IT training and certification labelling program. 

Data centres are major consumers of electricity, mainly for cooling ever-more-powerful server systems. The Foundation for IT Sustainability, to mark Green IT Week, has launched Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) Certification for data centres and its validation system was developed and tested in Queensland.

"Although the identity of the data centre must remain confidential for commercial reasons, we are grateful to a member organisation for ‘donating' the use of their data centre to validate the entire testing and validation process," said FFITS.org board member, William Ehmcke.

FFITS.org is launching the standardised PUE Balanced Scorecard program to provide "an apples to apples comparison" of data centres, Mr Ehmcke said. He said the PUE Certification can provide the initial first step for Australian companies considering undertaking the new NABERS for Data Centres accreditation.

"The FFITS.org PUE Certification provides data centre operators with an independent verification of their PUE claims," said Mark Winter, founder and CEO of FFITS.org.

"With the rapid rollout of cloud computing services the demand has never been greater for data centre real estate; and as organisations evaluate these providers they are looking for more than just available space."

Mr Winter said in today's data centre marketplace ‘green' or environmental issues are increasingly at the forefront of purchasers' minds and the distinctive PUE Certification Label provides data centre operators with a competitive differentiator, enabling them to stand out in the industry.

"Many data centre providers have flagged that PUE is being used out of context by data centre providers seeking to promote their ‘green' credentials," Mr Winter said. "By offering a third party and independent certification service, FFITS.org is able to level the playing field and provide an immediately recognisable validation of efforts toward energy efficiencies.

"The FFITS.org PUE certification will assist our industry in cleaning up our act as well as provide confidence around problematic PUE claims in the marketplace."

FFITS.org is based on the Gold Coast and operates as a global, non-profit organisation whose mission is to promote the sustainable use of technology.

Australian IT companies have been a leader in the field for some time, through data centres such as Ecohost in Brisbane and Macquarie Telecom in Sydney.

FFITS.org has an online eLearning training platform, promoting and encouraging the implementation of IT sustainability best practices and recognition and certification of organisations that are doing their part to reduce their power consumption and in turn reducing their carbon dioxide emissions.

Mr Winter said all profits from certification, training, donations, sponsorships and activities fund collaborative IT sustainability education programs at local, regional and international levels.

http://www.ffits.org/

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