An airflow study last year on a data center built in 2006 with "green" in mind revealed a number of issues and led to enormous cost savings for Lowder's company, , where Lowder is director of operations and global security.

ProLogis, based in Denver, is a Fortune 500 company that leases industrial space and distribution facilities to companies around the globe.

The problems began when a computer room air conditioner (CRAC) unit failed at the company's Denver data center. But the sheep-in-wolves clothing wasn't discovered until the remediation, which carried a price tag of US$32,000, but ended with the company now saving $10,000 a month on its energy bill for the entire building.

Lowder smiles when he considers the quick return on investment, but his smile grows as he realizes the benefits IT is realizing from that one air flow test.

"We were a little bit asleep in not managing some things," Lowder now admits. "A data center is dynamic and you have to monitor that closely," he said during his presentation at Network World's IT Roadmap Conference in Denver.