No kid every stops to think about what’s going on behind the scene as they consume huge amounts of bandwidth watching YouTube videos. Nor do the coeds think twice about loading up their Facebook pages with tons of graphics and embedded videos. The Y and upcoming generations have come to expect massive amounts of Internet assets to be readily available to them at a moment’s notice, and did I say, FREE! But in the back office, things are not so rosy at all! Matt Nauman reporting in a 6/27/08  SiliconValley.com article reports “the cost of powering data centers worldwide could grow from $18.5 billion in 2005 to $250 billion by 2012…. The problem starts with the incredible expansion of data-center usage, size and energy demands. In 1972, a typical data center might have been 500 square feet and used 50 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Today’s typical data center can measure 500,000 square feet, and use 50,000 kwh…” A copy of a preliminary report on this subject by accenture is here:

Along with big problems comes opportunity, opportunity for entrepreneurs to jump in and alleviate the situation. This has already started in data centers by making more efficient RAM for center computers. Where it leads is anyone’s guess. Hank