Big Blue is showing that it might not be easy being green, but it sure can save money. IBM announced that it will consolidate about 3,900 servers worldwide into about 30 mainframes running Linux--reducing energy costs by about 80 percent. The company said that the move will produce "significant savings" over five years in software and system support costs, and will make its IT infrastructure more flexible.
The consolidation, part of IBM's Project Big Green to reduce data center energy consumption for itself and its customers, is a demonstration as well as a cost-saving move. It "truly demonstrates," says CIO Mark Hennessy, "that IBM is committed to driving stronger energy and technology optimization, and cost savings."
IBM said that in energy consumption alone, it "expected to save enough electricity to power a small town." Because software is often priced by the processor, licensing fees are radically reduced. Systems administration tasks are reduced as well, freeing up technical workers.
Source: CIO Today, http://www.cio-today.com