365 Main, has reported that data center customers participating in a PG and E virtualization incentive program, have reduced energy consumption, by as much as 20%.

According to the company, this not only reduced energy costs at a critical time for customers, but has also resulted in capacity at 365 Main’s flagship San Francisco facility for the first time since 2006.

The goal of PG and E’s High Tech Energy Efficiency Program is to reduce energy consumption in data centers and throughout IT infrastructure. To encourage the implementation of such projects, PG and E pays incentives for energy-efficient equipment and initiatives, including using virtualization technology, which allows customers to run multiple virtualized server instances on a single physical server, increasing processing capacity and reducing overall energy use.

For virtualization/consolidation projects, PG and E pays incentives based on the annual accrued energy savings at the rate of 8 cents per kilowatt-hour. Based on typical power use of servers, incentives are typically on the order of $200 per server removed, up to a maximum of 50 percent of the project implementation cost.

PG and E determines the incentive payment for each participant based on the amount of energy saved, predicted through a calculation model, and reserves the right to inspect equipment both before and after the project is implemented.

Mark Bramfitt, principal program manager, customer energy efficiency at PG and E noted, ”As an industry leader in energy efficiency, PG and E helps our customers implement energy-saving technology that makes good sense – to the environment and to their bottom line. We are excited that 365 Main customers have chosen to participate in the virtualization program and look forward to seeing more data center customers join in 2009.”
Some of 365 Main’s San Francisco customers participating in the virtualization program have reduced their energy consumption by up to 20 percent, freeing up capacity that is available immediately for new or existing customers. Capacity in San Francisco has also been made available as two high-growth customers graduated to the company’s Oakland facility to access larger amounts of space and power not available in the San Francisco data center. Several other customers are expected to participate in the virtualization program in 2009.

The newly available capacity is much needed in the San Francisco Bay Area, which data center industry analyst firm Tier 1 Research recently named the top data center market in the United States. In its yearly supply/demand report published in Q4 2008, Tier 1 found data centers in the region were on average 70 percent full, with utilization expected to reach 95 percent in 2012. The firm predicted that demand in the region will grow at 15-18 percent per year over the next four years, while supply over the same period will only grow at 6-9 percent annually.

As a result of the lopsided supply/demand metrics, companies are moving quickly to secure available capacity. According to the report, the San Francisco Bay Area is attractive because of the availability of power, ample optical fiber routing, regional fiber exchange points and proximity to the region’s many businesses.

Chris Dolan, President and CEO of 365 Main explained, ”We’re pleased our customers can benefit from the innovative programs PG and E has developed to curb energy use. The available capacity will directly serve existing or new customers looking to expand or move into 365 Main’s founding facility.”

Mr. Dolan said 365 Main has leased over 95 percent of available capacity across its five data center portfolio including over 4 MW leased in Q4 2008. The company is currently planning for expansion in new and existing regions.

Since PG and E launched the program in 2006, more than 150 Northern California companies have filed applications for server virtualization/consolidation projects. To qualify for the PG and E incentives, 365 Main’s customers were required to apply to the program before beginning the project, and making their installation available for pre- and post-inspections to ensure removal of equipment.

365 Main Inc. develops and operates data centers, developed and certified to compliance requirements, including SAS70, and feature 24/7/365 power, cooling, connectivity and security capabilities to ensure mission-critical operations and business continuity for tenants. Hundreds of hosting, telecommunication and Fortune 1000 enterprises utilize 365 Main’s privately held services, based in San Francisco, California.

SoftLayer Technologies, has completed a SAS 70 review. Including the assessment of all processes and systems necessary to complete an accompanying Type II report, the audit and evaluation were part of its ongoing commitment to provide customers with industry-best standards and practices. A SAS 70 Type II review is an in-depth survey of a service organization’s control objectives and activities, with an evaluation of the organizations’ effectiveness in meeting those control objectives.

Steve Kinman, Customer Service Manager at SoftLayer noted, ”We are very excited to have completed this process. It gives us an objective standard for assuring all of our customers, of all sizes, that we provide reliable, tested, and secure hosting services based upon industry-recognized standards.”

It is an important step for any service organization supporting outsourced, mission-critical, and information technology services. The survey includes a full assessment of: Oversight by executive management Operations and customer service Development and information technology organization Human resources policies and procedures Risk assessment monitoring SAS 70 data centers must maintain prescribed levels of data security and redundancy, as well as personnel controls. The data center’s staff cannot access servers or data without a specific procedure. All systems access and activity must be logged, and all physical access is highly controlled.

SoftLayer’s review was conducted by an independent auditing agency and included extensive testing performed over a six-month period. It involved all existing SoftLayer data center facilities in Dallas, Seattle, and Washington, DC.

Headquartered in Plano, Texas, SoftLayer provides next-generation web hosting and on-demand datacenter services on a global basis from facilities located in Dallas, TX and Seattle, WA and Washington DC. Utilizing proprietary management tools coupled with the industry’s first network-within-a-network topology, the company delivers unprecedented power and control to securely manage IT environments while providing unparalleled scalability.

Green Rack Systems, is offering a new green data center equipment line designed to help reduce IT system budgets, while significantly reducing environmental impact at the same time. Green Rack Systems understands the incredible amount of energy required to run a full-scale computer data center. Even small, in-house computer server and data systems can consume astonishing levels of energy in the span of a year’s time. However, thanks to an ever-increasing demand for “green,” energy efficient systems, with its new low-power line of data center equipment, Green Rack Systems is now able to design, install, and maintain energy efficient data centers that consume just a tiny fraction of the resources previously required for full-scale IT rollouts.

“Our goal is changing the way data centers are built and operated, finally creating a 100% green solution for our customers” said Mt. Gard, technical director of Green Rack Systems, in a press release. “From converting an existing data center setup to building brand new all-green turnkey solutions, Green Rack is proud to combine traditional green technology, such as recycled steel and plastic, with our cutting-edge data center equipment, which includes low-power consuming processors and memory, ultra high-efficiency power supplies, and even co-location in a completely solar-powered data center,” he said. Green Rack Systems is helping to lead the way the industry is adapting as going green becomes increasingly necessary, he added.

Through the cutting-edge low-power line of data center equipment just released, including low-wattage multi-core CPUs, low-voltage memory, low-power hard drives, and ultra-low consumption power supplies, Green Rack Systems is able to save customers more money than ever while significantly helping the environment at the same time, according to the firm. Plus, as a business-to-business service provider, Green Rack Systems delivers a 100% green solution to their customers; in turn, these customers are able to fulfill the demands and promises of being green to their own end-user customers.