News
Data centres waste energy through excess
capacity
24 June 2008
3PAR, a provider of utility storage, has released the findings of a survey carried out by Vanson Bourne in the UK, France
and Germany in April that found that the majority of companies are
installing excess data storage capacity.
The survey found that across these countries, 81%
of respondents agree with the statement: "as an organisation, we
intentionally allocate extra storage capacity to applications to prevent
future problems linked to performance or space shortage, even if we
realise that it generates other difficulties such as under-utilised
storage capacity and increased need for floor space and energy".
The
figure varies little among the three regions: 81% of UK executives
answered yes to this question, with the figure rising slightly to 82% in
France and 84% in Germany.
Aimed at uncovering the extent to which organisations potentially
waste storage capacity and the related human, environmental and
financial resources, the research polled 100 IT decision makers in each
of the three countries. The industries surveyed included financial
services, manufacturing, retail, distribution, transport and utilities.
Among the various industries polled, manufacturing fared worst in each
country, with an average of 88% of respondents admitting to allocating
extra capacity. The financial services segment followed with 84%
“We believe these figures demonstrate some of the challenges posed
with traditional storage systems. At a time when businesses are striving
to improve resource utilisation and reduce their impact on the
environment, storage vendors should provide real solutions,” said David
Scott President and CEO of 3PAR.
In the UK, respondents who agreed with the survey statement varied by
12 percentage points across industries — from 76% in retail,
distribution and transport, to 88% in manufacturing. Interestingly, the
size of the organisation does not seem to affect the answers, with only
a 2% difference between the answer from organisations employing between
1,000 and 3,000 people (82%) and those with over 3,000 staff (80%).
In Germany, those that agreed with the survey statement was generally
higher than in the UK and France (84% average) yet more varied. Findings
ranged from 72% in utilities and other commercial industries, to an
overwhelming 92% in manufacturing. Also, in contrast with the results in
the UK, organisation size does matter in Germany. The larger
organisations (over 3,000 employees) averaged 92% of versus smaller ones
(employing between 1,000 and 3,000 people) averaging 76%.
With regard to France, response averages ranged from 76% in utilities
and other commercial industries to 88% in manufacturing, similar to the
UK. And showing a stronger similarity with the UK than its German
counterparts, the French respondents indicated little difference between
smaller (80%) and larger (84%) organisations.
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