June 12, 2008 - IBM has unveiled standardized (or "modular") datacenter units that it says can cut energy use 50% compared to custom-designed IT environments. "By building in smaller, standardized modules, clients can scale the starting datacenter capacity by up to 12 times while matching their capital and operational costs to their IT needs over time," IBM says. Employing a standardized approach also enables enterprises to bring their datacenters online three to six months faster that they otherwise could, according to IBM.

IBM's modular datacenters (MDCs) are available in sizes from 5,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet. The MDCs, which are also available in a portable format (similar to Sun's Blackbox units) have achieved the highest energy rating possible from the Green Grid, according to IBM.

The new offerings have been developed as part of IBM's Project Big Green, a $1 billion initiative to deliver more energy-efficient datacenter products and services.

IBM isn't the only tech giant banking on environmentally preferable products to boost its revenues. HP last week announced new funding for datacenter-efficiency research in a bid to develop new markets for its green IT products.