Given rising operational costs, electricity and power consumption aren't small budget items. It's time to get a grip on this issue, say experts, as the power usage and related costs are jumping each year. According to an association for data center professionals, Afcom, data center power requirements are spiking an average of 8 percent per year. By taking a good hard look at server room setups and hardware configurations, however, IT leaders can lower energy costs while keeping everything at full power. A good first project is to review the computing equipment and consider investing in more efficient hardware. Then it's time to make sure the server uptime is providing as much value as possible.

For more on efficient IT utility operations:
- read this article at CIO