Power Assure has built its business around optimizing server energy usage — high availability is one thing, but there’s no need for a server to draw the same amount of electricity during the slow period as during peak usage. Today, Power Assure updates their solutions with a new version of their software-as-a-service Dynamic Power Management solution and the launch of Dynamic Power Optimization. Here’s some insight.

Dynamic Power Management 3.5 adds what-if analysis for capacity, performance and power, helping IT staff predict just how changing the data center will affect your power efficiency, says Power Assure VP of Marketing Jack Norris. It also expands application integration by way of plug-in modules, joining the recently-announced plug-in for Intel Data Center Manager (DCM). The idea is to maximize visibility into the power infrastructure.

Dynamic Power Optimization, Norris says, takes the idea a step further by automatically controlling cooling and other resources to reduce power usage in the data center (even on virtual servers) by as much as 60%. Whether you’re in it for the cost savings or the environmentally-friendly aspect, the idea has undeniable appeal.

Partner Upside

According to Norris, the idea has several key benefits for VARs, managed service providers, and anyone with a data center, not least of which the fact that it extends a server’s operational life and enables maximized usage and visibility both. And they just got a new customer in the form of NASA, and they’ve received a $5 million Department of Energy grant, Norris says, so they have some cachet in the channel.

Pricing for Dynamic Power Management 3.5 and Dynamic Power Optimization 1.0 starts at $2,500 a month. But if their product is as good as their sales pitch, admins could make that back within a year in power bill savings.

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