This IDC study is the result of an in-depth analysis of enterprise storage worldwide and the costs to power and cool external storage arrays from 2002 to 2012.

"The number of spinning disks in external enterprise storage continues to increase every year, and there is a cost beyond just acquiring these disks — the cost to power and cool them. IDC estimates that in 2007, the cost to power and cool the world's installed base of external enterprise storage exceeded $1 billion. It is not easy to predict the exact cost of electricity in the future, but it is easy to anticipate the direction — up. Fortunately, there are options for companies that wish to become 'greener' in their use of enterprise storage." — David Reinsel, group vice president, Storage and Semiconductors