Strategies for lowering overall energy consumption include a broad range of activities.Microsoft IT has been engaged in projects,which are targeted data center, various layers ofthe applications and specific server workloads.Consolidation efforts include Right Sizing, Storage Utility, Compute Utility, File Server Utilityand the SQL Server consolidation initiative toensure energy efficiency, and elimination of unnecessary hardware. In addition to environmentalsustainability benefits, SQL Server consolidationpresents clear business benefits, such as:• Reduction of operating and capitalexpenses,• Reduction in data center space,• Provision of business continuity, scalability and availability,• Provision of a standardized server buildlibrary.