SAN JOSE, Calif., March 23, 2020 — Super Micro Computer, Inc., a global leader in enterprise computing, storage, networking solutions, and green computing technology, today released its third annual Data Centers and the Environment report based on an industry survey of over 400 IT Managers and CxOs. The results show that data center managers are making progress in implementing green computing practices, but there is still room for significant improvement. A mid-scale-sized data center with 50 racks can save over $150,000 per year with just a 10% reduction in electricity used in a legacy data center that relies on four-year-old technology.

Supermicro conducts this annual survey to report on the state of the industry, assess data center equipment purchase considerations, and help data center leaders better quantify their decisions for the long-term environmental impact through energy savings and E-waste reduction.

“Supermicro continues to work with our customers and partners to reduce the effect on the environment that their data centers are responsible for,” said Charles Liang, president and CEO, Supermicro. “We strongly believe that data center operators can take actions to reduce their TCE. This survey reinforces our belief that many organizations worldwide are considering their impact on the environment. We look forward to supplying energy-efficient servers to our customers worldwide to reduce operating expenses and save Mother Earth.”

Several key findings stand out:

• Worldwide, while about 50% of data center operators listed “Upgrading critical components” as their #1 area of investment in 2021, the same amount did not buy into upgrading to the newest and most energy-efficient technologies.
• Almost a third of respondents held onto their systems for four years or more, resulting in outdated and inefficient technologies being used.
• While delivering more power to a rack results in greater efficiencies, only about 30% were delivering 40kW or more to their compute and storage racks.
• E-Waste was important to organizations worldwide and was essential to only about 50% of the respondents.
• Datacenter operators in the APAC region were willing to run their systems at a higher temperature than in NA or EMEA.

Actions such as allowing higher inlet temperatures, installing more servers per rack, lowering their amount of E-waste, and replacing components selectively can all contribute to reducing the TCE of a data center.

The Supermicro Data Centers & The Environment 2021 report is available for download.