IBM's green push not limited to data centres

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 17 June 2008 03:24

IT Industry - Strategy

The Centre of Excellence for Water Management will kick off operation with a collaboration with the Marine Institute Ireland to monitor Galway Bay.

The SmartBay project is a research, test and demonstration infrastructure for monitoring and managing aquatic environmental data such as tidal flow, wave heights, temperature, and phytoplankton via an integrated network of sensors, robotics and computational technology distributed throughout the bay.

IBM will work on the sensor network and the conversion of the collected data into information for scientists, fishing and aquaculture operators, and the general public.

"Our collaboration with IBM is a good example of increasingly sophisticated technology being applied to marine stewardship and management activities - the research and development of which offers a significant new opportunity for Irish industry," said Peter Heffernan, CEO of the Marine Institute Ireland.

This doesn't mean IBM is neglecting Project Big Green. It has also announced an IT carbon strategy service and a partnership with the North American utility industry.

The IT carbon strategy service assesses the entire IT enterprise, not just the data centre.

"Significant reduction in carbon footprint can be achieved in often-overlooked areas such as desktop systems, networking components, server rooms and printers that can contribute more than 50 percent of the total energy consumption for IT," said Jeanine Cotter, vice president for IBM's IT strategy and architecture services.

A study typically takes three to four weeks, and results in a report containing specific findings and recommendations.

What's the deal with the utility partnership? See page 3.