Big Blue gets greener with new energy conservation initiatives

Maybe it's the time of year, but computer companies suddenly seem to be growing greener -- including IBM, which has just unveiled a trio of initiatives centered around energy efficiency.

This week's "wearing of the green" from IBM includes a major update to its power management software, a new partner program around energy efficiency, and globalization of an existing program that rewards users for energy reduction with cash redeemable certificates.

Through IBM's expanded Energy Efficiency Certificate Program, customers in 34 countries can now earn certificates for cutting down on the energy used in running their data centers.

Previously, the program was limited to users in the US, Canada, and Mexico, said Rich Lechner, VP of IBM's Enterprise Systems, in an interview with BetaNews. Neuwing Energy Ventures is working with IBM on the globalization effort.

The certificates earned through the program -- based on energy use reduction verified by a certified third party -- can either be traded for cash in the energy efficiency certificate market or retained to prove reductions in energy use and CO2 emissions.

Furthermore, to help customers keep on top of their own energy use, IBM is replacing its previous PowerExecutive software with a new product known as IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager. Where PowerExecutive ran on x86-based PCs only, Active Energy Manager also supports IBM BladeCenter, Power, and System x servers, according to Lechner.

Although this is the first release of the product, IBM is dubbing it version 3.1, BetaNews was told.

Working as an extension of IBM Systems Director, Active Energy Manager is designed for monitoring and management of both energy usage and thermal control across multiple platforms. The Windows edition operates on System x only, whereas the Linux edition operates on System x and System p, with System z to follow later in the first half of this year, Lechner said.

The software is also aimed at interoperating with facility management products from companies such as SynapSense and Emerson Network Power for retrieving energy and temperature information and receiving alerts about problems such as low battery power on UPS devices, or overheating.

Next, IBM has also unveiled a new Data Center Business Partner Skills Program, designed to provide training, technical resources, certification, and marketing help to partners around building more energy efficient, virtualized, secure, and resilient data centers for their customers.

Partners achieving certification in green/energy efficiency, consolidation and virtualization, and related areas can get benefits such as co-marketing assistance, higher margin opportunities, and pre-sales assessment funding and technical help.

In a related move, IBM has also rolled out a new enterprise data center alliance program to promote interoperability standardization in the areas of energy efficiency, virtualization, and "resiliency" among IBM's top data center partners.