IBM pledges $1bn to slash data-centre energy use

IBM is to invest $1bn per year in developing technology it hopes can double the capacity of its data centres without increasing energy use or the amount of space required.

The tech giant has outlined its plans to achieve this target by 2010 through a range of software, hardware and services, for use by Big Blue and its clients.

Michael Daniels, senior VP of global technology services at IBM, said: "There are those times when we need to mobilise the whole company - this is a cross-IBM effort."

IBM estimates that by doubling capacity without increasing the amount of energy used it will avoid emitting an extra four million tonnes of CO2 per year.

The company owns and operates around eight million square feet of data centres globally.

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Daniels said: "Not only is there a good financial incentive here but something we can be proud of environmentally as well." He added there is demand for more data centre capacity but there is a power issue: "Large companies are facing a real crisis around energy."

IBM attributes the rapid growth in data centres and energy consumption to the rise in internet computing, with six times the number of data centres compared to 10 years ago.