Further advancing the greening of IT are software and hardware that reduce the amount of energy consumed. Software company Verdiem -- which is backed by investing powerhouse Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers -- updated its Surveyor software that enables IT managers to remotely put computers to sleep when they aren't in use.

Version 4 of the software is now being distributed in Australia and New Zealand by GreenInnovation. The software enables computers to be controlled to wake up when needed for activities such as software updates or virus checks, and to go to sleep when no one is at the keyboard.

Verdiem says installing the software on a PC can save $20 per year.

On the hardware side, Western Digital introduced the GreenPower line of hard drives that reduce energy consumption by up to 40 percent, or up to $10 per drive when compared to competing products.

IT managers are recognizing that the power costs are a major component of the "total cost of ownership" of computing equipment, which is similar to the lessons learned by understanding maintenance costs 2 decades ago. Energy audits will become standard practice from the data center to the small LAN, and quantifying the benefits will make energy efficiency practices a no-brainer.