Chief executives and chief information officers are driving the push to green the data center, with 48 percent championing the cause, according to new research from network attached storage specialist ONStor.

But green computing remains a minority concern at present, with only 36 percent of organizations having a green initiative in place for the data center, according to the research.

Fifty eight per cent of respondents said either had no plans at all or it was not being discussed.

Bob Miller, ONStor's CEO, said: "Green initiatives are sweeping the IT industry, with pressure groups such as the Green Grid now taking center stage in an industry renown for its power consumption. While the vendors appear to be taking this issue seriously the overall end user community is some way behind.

"One of the key facts that came out of the research was that higher energy and cooling costs would affect change. Higher power bills would encourage over 66 percent of respondents to deal with reducing data infrastructure power consumption. In addition 76 percent of those surveyed felt that higher cooling costs would also be a serious issue that needed to be addressed."

The survey was conducted across 440 companies in July and August.