Energy Star announced on February 22 that it is near completion on a program that will measure the energy used by data storage centers. The program was announced first in March 2008 and is expected to begin in June.

The goal of the program is to provide storage centers an incentive to reduce the amount of energy used. The Environmental Protection Agency found in 2009 that data storage centers utilized more than 1.5 percent of all electricity in the United States.

The program will allow companies to enter information online to test their energy efficiency. Companies who test well will be eligible for an audit and eventual Energy Star Certification. Showing centers that they can offer premier desktop management while using less energy is key to reducing it throughout the industry.

"What the industry really wants to get to is a measure of energy use per output from the data center - what we would call 'useful work,'" Mike Zatz, Energy Star manager for the EPA, told Computer World.

Utilizing cloud computing is the best way to reduce energy use, according to IBM. The company estimates that it can eliminate 70 percent of hardware used per client by switching to cloud computing.ADNFCR-2553-ID-19630132-ADNFCR