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IBM Energy Efficiency

Managing power and cooling with the IBM Cool Blue™ portfolio

Add IBM Cool Blue to you palette to create a green data center

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Q: How much is the cost of data center power and cooling affecting your bottom line?

A: Data centers are under increasing pressure to efficiently manage their power and cooling expenses. IDC estimates that for every $1.00 spent on new hardware, an additional $0.50 is spent on power and cooling. This is more than double the amount spent five years ago. 1 According to IDC research, over the next five years the expense to power and cool the worldwide installed base of servers is projected to increase four times the growth rate of new server spending. 2

Energy efficiency is one of the most pressing issues facing the IT industry. As a leader in protecting the environment and innovative energy-efficiency initiatives, IBM is focused on providing offerings that can help sharply reduce energy consumption by servers, racks and data centers to help companies transform the world's business infrastructures into "green" data centers.

IBM, through its System x® servers, actively participates in the international ENERGY STAR® initiative, both directly and through industry groups like Green Grid, ITI and SNIA. ENERGY STAR is a voluntary program that specifies requirements for energy-efficient products, including computer servers and storage systems. IBM intends to introduce single-socket, dual-socket, and four-socket System x servers that qualify under the ENERGY STAR server requirements.

IBM Cool Blue technology can help you every step of the way. Whether you need to evaluate your existing facilities, plan an energy-efficient data center, seize control with power management software or see significant energy savings, Cool Blue technologies can help your data center operate in a safe and more efficient environment.

  • Design

    The IBM X-Architecture® blueprint equips IBM System x™ and IBM BladeCenter® servers with innovative technology that makes IT easier and more reliable.


  • Budget

    IBM Cool Blue offerings can help you to conduct an energy-efficiency assessment to rate your systems and remove the guesswork in budgeting


  • Plan

    Optimize your BladeCenter and System x environment while easing deployment with our full suite of IBM rack and power infrastructure solutions.


  • Manage

    Seize control over power consumption using IBM Cool Blue technology.


  • Save

    When you take full advantage of IBM Cool Blue liquid cooling solutions — inside and out of the data center — you can save on the significant costs of powering and cooling your IT systems.


1. "Solutions for the Datacenter's Thermal Challenges." IDC White Paper.
Document #205113, January 2007, p. 1.

2. "Solutions for the Datacenter's Thermal Challenges," p. 4.

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