In-Stat reports: Green networking equipment is next competitive edge
By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 3/19/2008 1:27:00 PM
Power consumption and other "green" issues are fast becoming the IT industry's biggest challenges, reports Scottsdale, Ariz.-based In-Stat. Inevitably, as these concerns grow, focus will broaden to all types of IT equipment, settling on one of the thirstiest devices: the LAN switch, the high-tech market research firm says.
Switch vendors that address energy efficiency earliest have significant opportunities to develop competitive advantage in their respective markets, taking full advantage of the continuing growth in the switch market.
"As many businesses develop green initiatives using best practices published by organizations like the Green Grid, IT managers will be forced to absorb some degree of responsibility for their organization's power usage," says Victoria Fodale, In-Stat analyst. "The role of energy efficiency will grow considerably in importance for future equipment purchases."
Recent research by In-Stat revealed these trends:
• Shipments of power over Ethernet ports, which can consume more than 10 times the energy of standard ports, have tripled since 2005.
• Even among similarly equipped switches capable of performing identical tasks, there are significant vendor-specific differences in energy efficiency.
The research, "Green Networking Equipment: Who Leads and Who Lags?" (#IN0804265LS), helps to answer specific questions and provide insight concerning these topics:
• Components of "green" networking and how they affect energy efficiency;
• Explosive growth of Power over Ethernet (PoE) and its future power requirements;
• Advantages and disadvantages of standard and proprietary hardware components;
• Snapshot of power efficiency by vendor for Fixed Gigabit Ethernet switches; and
• Strategies vendors are pursuing to improve energy efficiency.
Click here for more information on this research, or to purchase it online (U.S.) $995.
