Originally posted to Data Center Frontier by Voices of the Industry.

green-energy-e1500669338965In this week’s Voices of the Industry, Aaron Binkley, Director of Sustainability Programs at Digital Realty, discusses how a growing customer focus on energy efficiency is driving the “green” data center market. 

Enterprises depend on data for competitive advantage, This is driving increased demand for data storage, which is resulting in continuous expansion of the global datacenter market. The global data center construction market will grow from $14.59bn in 201­4 to $22.73bn by 2019, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.3% according to a new report from research firm Research and Markets.

Many of these organizations are also becoming more concerned about data centers’ power usage and carbon footprint.  The global green data center market, with Europe and the U.S. historically leading it, is expected to reach or exceed $55 billion by 2021, growing an overall CAGR of 14 percent according to an assessment by Technavio. This focus on energy and carbon emissions is exemplified by several green initiatives, such as the Better Buildings Challenge, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designed to improve energy performance of the data center industry by driving leadership in energy innovation. As a participant in the program, Digital Realty achieved its 20 percent energy savings goal seven years ahead of schedule.

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