A Blog byJoev

HP Launches Scale-Out Datacenter Solutions

HP are taking on IBM in offering solutions for Datacenter Efficiency at scale….

HP unveiled the HP Extreme Scale-Out (ExSO) portfolio this week, which is a set of new solutions targeting large-scale datacenter customers. The mega-datacenter market encompasses sites that are specifically designed for massive scale operations, including grid computing, large scale-out compute, Cloud, Web 2.0, and HPC. Common across all these sites is the laser focus on reducing operational expenses in addition to the capital expenditures of IT systems; the reason being in these companies the datacenter is the factory floor where IT operational costs have a clear and direct impact on business profits.

The second part of the announcement is the new HP Data Center Environment Edge solution designed to optimized datacenter energy efficiency. The solution utilizes a network of wireless sensors to map the customer’s environment, providing visibility into the facilities aspects of their IT operations. In real time, customers are able to monitor power consumption, temperature, humidity, and air pressure throughout the datacenter. As with other environmental monitoring tools, customers are able to track performance over a time to observe trends and develop a baseline from which they can identify areas for improvement.

Will the Cloud help with global GHG emissions?

I certainly see Cloud Computing as a key enabler to reducing total carbon emissions as companies move from on premise to cloud based computing ostensibly to reduce cost. This of course relies on the provider being more efficient overall and preferably carbon neutral. Companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google have the scale to make a huge impact and are already acting to do so. At the moment though there is no mechanism to track the overall impact as this type of CO2 footprint is “traded”.

Microsoft Data Centers for example are able to track energy and carbon consumption to the application level so conceivably we could see Service Providers offer another avenue for companies to reduce their emissions. It will be interesting to see whether datacenters will be able to participate in CDM and Carbon Trading by generating tradable certificates from the CO2 they remove from the grid. Not sure how additionality is worked into the equation though.

It would be interesting to see some projections of the overall impact of shifting percentage of on-premise compute to the cloud. Let me know if any analysts are on the case?

For more information see other cloud or datacenter postings on my blog and specifically Microsoft play in the Cloud space through Microsoft Software+Services initiative such as Microsoft Online Services and the Microsoft Azure Services platform.

see my posting on Microsoft Datacenter strategy

Business Leaders Outline Six Steps for Ambitious Global Climate Treaty

Agreement on a science-based greenhouse gas stabilization path with 2020 and 2050 emissions reduction targets that will achieve it;
1. Effective measurement, reporting and verification of emissions performance by business;
2. Incentives for a dramatic increase in financing low emissions technologies;
3. Deployment of existing low-emissions technologies and the development of new ones;
4. Funds to make communities more resilient and able to adapt to the effects of climate change, and
5. Means to finance forest protection.

See Copenhagen Climate Council Call for more detail

Microsoft signs EU Code of Conduct for data centers and targets PUE of less than 1.2

Reposted from DataCenter Dynamics article

Microsoft has signed up as a participant and an endorser of the EU code of conduct for data center efficiency.
To date the company is one of the largest data center operators to sign as a participant in the Code. The Code of Conduct offers two levels of engagement, participants are generally data center operators who must commit to monitoring and reporting of data center energy use and endorsers, generally suppliers, who promote the code.

Mark Taylor, Director of Developer and Platform Evangelism, Microsoft said “We need to do three things: Address the issues in our own industry, work to find technological answers to the environmental problems we are all facing today and tomorrow and help individuals and organisations change their behaviour. Signing up to the Code of Conduct is just a small part of Microsoft’s commitment to environmental sustainability, but with the projected growth of cloud computing it’s important. We are also working with our network of partners, customers, environmental groups, industry groups, and leading environmental scientists and academics to drive global action on climate change and share best practice.”

Microsoft cited the efficient design of its Dublin data center as a model of reduced energy usage. "The new Microsoft Data Centre in Ireland, due to come online this summer, will consume approximately 50% less energy than a traditional data centre of its output. In the Dublin facility, Microsoft’s has applied 100% of the ‘Expected’ and the large majority of the optional best practices outlined in the code of conduct and will employ artificial cooling on just one or two days per year.
Microsoft said its data centers are currently operating with an average PUE of 1.6 and that it is targeting a PUE of below 1.2. It has already, or is planning to implement, the majority of the Code’s best practices in its data centres in Europe and across the globe, it said.

Commitments included in the The Code of Conduct encourage data centre operators to:
· Measure both the total facility and IT power consumed at each data centre and through these measurements monitor the overall efficiency of the facility. DCiE or Power Usage Effectivenss (PUE) are commonly used methods for this measurement.
· Set future energy efficiency targets for their existing and future data centre facilities, and make these efficiency goals a part of the culture of the organization. 
· Explore and implement efficiency improvements to existing data centres either through environmental, operational, or infrastructure changes, or by applying best practices or innovative approaches to refurbishments or new data centres.

Technorati Tags: Datacenter,Microsoft,Cloud

Government rules threaten renewable investments

Environmental Sustainability in Microsoft UK

Here in Microsoft UK our Environmental Management team have been spending the past year getting a handle on our environmental footprint and putting in place a program to reduce our environmental impact. Here are some of the achievements so far …………with more to come as we tackle energy consumption and travel more aggressively in the coming year.

·         Carbon Footprint Calculation: Microsoft UK Ltd commissioned the Carbon Trust to do a full audit to calculate its carbon footprint.  As a result plans are now in place to address the largest areas of contribution to our carbon emissions which are business travel, energy consumption, and commuting. Globally our footprint stands at 938,000 metric tonnes of CO2 in 2007. We have set a global carbon reduction goal of 30% based on this per unit of revenue by 2012.

·         Utilising technology to avoid travel: Microsoft actively encourages the usage of Microsoft Live Meetings internally and with customers. A pilot programme was introduced in 2009 to reduce the total number of meetings which staff either travel to themselves, or ask external parties to travel to Thames Valley Park, using our Unified Communications and Live Meetings technology is now in place.  The plan is to expand this scheme and mandate a higher usage of Live Meetings throughout the business.

·         We have now eradicated the supply of bottled water at Microsoft’s UK Reading, Chertsey and London offices. This initiative will save 2 million litres of water, 39 barrels of oil and 610,000kgs of greenhouse gases.  We will be introducing zip taps and personalised water bottles for all staff which provides filtered water instead.

·         New Microsoft buildings consume greater than 20 % less energy than existing traditional buildings. For example, From energy use and heating and lighting through to the plan of the workspace itself, Building 5 at Thames Valley Park has been designed and built to be as sustainable as possible and to support collaboration and mobility.  It is intended to be the model for all new Microsoft buildings in the UK.

·         Proximity printing - In early 2009 Microsoft UK introduced proximity printing at offices in Cardinal Place, London and TVP Reading.  A recent survey showed that up to 12% of all pages sent to printers were not retrieved, wasting 474,000 sheets of paper or the equivalent of 63 trees per year.  The introduction of this process means that staff will need to swipe their smartcard in order to retrieve a printing job and save all that paper.

<<See also Green Printing post>>

·         Green energy. Microsoft UK leads the world as the first subsidiary to use 100% green energy for its offices in Reading, Chertsey and Edinburgh, which is purchased from hydroelectric sources.

·         Meeting respected environmental standards: In 2008 Microsoft began the process of implementing the ISO 14001 as its Environmental Management System.  The roll out of the first phase is due to be completed in the first half of 2009 and we are hoping to achieve accreditation for our Facilities in the third quarter of the year.

·         Incentivising environmental commuting choices: Providing a £1,200 reduction in lease rental over the term for company cars with CO2 less than 125 g/km. All cars available on the company car pool are restricted to 220 g/km or below as well as using fuel data to identify opportunities for more fuel efficient driving. In March 2009 we held an EcoDriving workshops at TVP to help staff understand how to drive their cars in a more sustainable way

·         Partnership with Equipment Refurbishers:  With the Microsoft Authorised Reseller and Digital Pipeline programmes, the life of older retired computers is extended through low-cost licenses for Microsoft software, so that computers destined for the landfill can continue to be used. In the UK, by partnering with RDC, Microsoft is helping extend the life of over 4 million  PCs in this way.

See also worldwide site…http://www.microsoft.com/environment/commitment_policies/policies_principles.aspx

Green IT Webcast Series on TechNet!

For you ITPro’s who want to here from Microsoft on GreenIT we have a series of webcasts to access via TechNet.

The full session listing is provided below:

Webcast download will post within 2-3 business days to same URL as provided for registration.

TechNet Magazine: Special Going Green 2009 Edition

To celebrate Earth Day 2009 the TechNet team has done a special Green issue of TechNet Magazine.  This edition is  only available online which makes sense giving it’s all about Green IT.  The whole issue is dedicated to green IT and sustainable computing.  Check out the highlights below.

• Green IT:  Framework for Building a “Hyper-Green” Virtual Server System
• Green IT:  Planning Your Power Management and Virtualization Strategies
• Green IT:  Essential Tools for Planning Your Virtual Infrastructure
• Green IT:  Build a Green Datacenter

Some Environmental uses for Microsoft Tag ?

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft unveiled a new beta product called Tag. It's a simple technology on the surface, but it holds enormous potential for creative use at retail.

Tag is an extension of the company's existing High Capacity Colour Barcode (HCCB) technology, packaged for extreme ease of use and simple integration with mobile devices. Each Tag consists of a 5x10 grid of triangles, each of which can be in one of four colors. This allows a tag to hold 13 bytes of data, more than enough to store a URL or a phone number.

After installing the Tag client application, a user simply captures an image of a Tag with the mobile phone. Depending on how the Tag is configured, snapping that picture might cause a Web page to load, a video to play, a document to download or a call to a number to be placed.

So what about some Environmental uses of Tag. I invite you all to post your ideas.

Obvious one that comes to mind is for Product Labelling to provide detailed Environmental data such as embodied CO2, food miles, ethical sourcing etc.

Here are  Five ways retailers can use Microsoft Tag today to give you some ideas…..

PS: the tag at the head of this post really is my vCard. Try downloading the app and snapping it.

Useful Links for the ITPro

In the interest of helping our customers with successful deployment and operation of Microsoft technology, here are some useful links to some free resources from Microsoft TechNet designed with IT Professionals in mind.

·         Best bets

·         Career and Learning

·         Additional IT Pro specific resources

Don’t forget to check out the content on Sustainable Computing.

Best bets

Career and Learning 

Additional IT Pro Specific Resources

Microsoft releases Dynamics Environmental Dashboard

On 9th February Microsoft launched the Dynamics AX Environmental Dashboard.  The dashboard enables mid-sized organizations to track their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (out of the box) in an effort to help identify opportunities to cut costs and lessen their environmental impact from within their existing ERP solution.  It allows companies to seamlessly capture and measure key environmental indicators as part of their everyday business processes. 

Although targeted currently at mid-sized organisations, larger companies could consider providing this facility to their supply chain and aggregate product lifecycle emission in a hub and spoke configuration. Speculation on my part but can’t see any reason why not…there are a number of Carbon Reporting tools hitting the market and I will start posting about them soon.

The key features include:

With the Business Ready Enhancement Plan for Microsoft Dynamics, the dashboard is available at no additional charge to customers using Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 (only).

There is a good demo HERE.

I mentioned that out of the box you get two metrics (energy & greenhouse gases) however a Dynamics Developer can add in other metrics they typically need to measure, such as waste, water, hazardouse substances etc.

For more info, checkout:  http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/environment.mspx

Microsoft Announces CO2 Targets - Investing in Environmental Sustainability

Last week Steve Ballmer sent an e-mail to all Microsoft employees to communicate the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability.  The mail outlined the company’s role in solving environmental challenges, its progress to date, and the opportunities ahead.  The company also announced to its employees a goal to reduce its carbon emissions per unit of revenue at least 30% below 2007 levels by 2012 and provided actions for employees to help the company reduce its carbon footprint.  Please see Microsoft’s Environmental website and Environmental Blog for more information about Microsoft’s commitment to the environment and its the carbon reduction goal. 

€105B Announced for Energy Efficiency and Low Carbon Economy in Europe

Momentum is building…

http://www.greeneconomyinitiative.com/news/180/ARTICLE/1463/2009-03-11.html

€105B Announced for Energy Efficiency and Low Carbon Economy in Europe

By JOSEPH GREEN

March 11th, 2009

European Commissioner for Regional Policy Danuta Hübner, has announced €105 billion ($135 billion at current conversion rate) investment in the "green economy" to assist in the revival of economies and long term job generation, through the EU Cohesion Policy.

The funding, which is nearly triple the total budgeted funding to support the green investment in the 2000-06 period, represents more than 30% of the regional policy budget for 2007-2013. It also offers a solid platform for job creation and a significant boost for investment in green technologies in regions and cities across Europe…………

Microsoft MOU with United Nations Environment Program

One of the key challenges faced in addressing global warming is to advance the understanding and communicate the science to inform scientists, policy makers and decision makers globally.

Check out the details of a new Microsoft MOU with the United Nations Environment Program. In short, under the MOU, Microsoft and UNEP will work together to leverage information and communication technology to help address complex environmental challenges, including climate change. Under the agreement access to scientific research in developing countries will be supported through the Research4Life program, which provides over 7,500 articles to scientists and researchers.

In addition, Microsoft Research’s Computational Science Laboratory in Cambridge, UK, will work with UNEP’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre to pioneer new computational modeling for biodiversity and conservation.

With this agreement, we can point out that the U.S. EPA, European Environment Agency, and UN Environment Programme are all using Microsoft technology to advance their mission of protecting the environment.

Also check out Eye On Earth for a project that blends geospatial data with environmental data with crowd sourced data.

Fiat takes stake in Chrysler – small is beautiful and better for environment

Fiat and Chrysler create global alliance. Why is this interesting?

Fiat is a leader in economical small cars with associated lower environmental footprint. The trend is away from large gas guzzlers of the past and Chrysler is getting on board.

But why I wanted to point this particular news item out is it is an excuse to mention EcoDrive.

Developed with Microsoft technology, EcoDrive is the world’s first device that interacts directly with drivers and can help them change their driving habits in ways that can reduce auto emissions.

EcoDrive is built on Blue&Me, a Bluetooth-based system developed jointly by Fiat and Microsoft that gives drivers hands-free control over digital music players, mobile telephones, and other devices. In Fiat cars equipped with Blue&Me, the EcoDrive system assesses the driver’s driving style during a normal driving day. The way a driver accelerates, brakes, and shifts is automatically measured and analyzed against the car’s fuel economy and exhaust emissions

EcoDrive illustrates the potential of software technology to reduce auto emissions worldwide. In the U.S., for instance, automobiles account for about one-quarter of annual emissions of carbon dioxide, the gas primarily responsible for global warming. Growing auto markets such as those in China and India will contribute greatly to that output. The reduction of emissions by 20 or even 10 percent through better driving habits would make a huge contribution to automakers’ efforts to produce more environmentally friendly cars.