Burning Money

But as the saying goes, it's a mighty ill wind that does not blow some good. And so it is with the price of petroleum. That's because as oil costs rise, so too, does the cost of electricity, and one of the largest customer segments buying electricity are all the people who pay the tab for the power consumed by data centers and other IT infrastructure.

For years, the cost of the electricity used to power IT was pretty much ignored because it was assumed to be relatively flat and there was little that could be done to mitigate those costs. But as the electricity tab rises, IT executives are taking a hard look at the dollars literally being burned up every day by running outdated IT equipment.

This means that for the first time in a very long time, customers want to talk about how much money they can save by upgrading their data centers to more efficient designs that don't consume as much power. Or how new energy-efficient printers and displays can be deployed to reduce electricity costs, essentially helping to pay for themselves inside of six to nine months given the significantly lower price tags dominating the peripherals landscape.

These trends present an opportunity for solution providers to create new practices around the once-arcane area of power management. Even a midsize enterprise could be burning thousands of dollars a month while simultaneously congratulating itself for postponing hardware upgrades for the past three years.

Such penny-wise/pound-foolish IT management strategies are more often than not the norm, so it will be up to solution providers and their vendor partners to enlighten potential customers. Not many vendors are focused on this opportunity yet. But given all the hue and cry over costs coming from customers, it's probably only a matter of time before we see a more focused effort in the channel around power management.

Are you doing everything in your power about power? I can be reached at (516) 562-7477 or via e-mail at [email protected].