Seeking low-power alternatives is not the only way to reduce energy consumption, as virtualization technology emerges to provide better utilization.

With typical utilization rates of 10 percent, Prentice was blunt in describing the amount of capacity being wasted.

"Of the computing power you buy, you are throwing away 90 percent," he said, adding that with increased virtualization, utilization levels will climb to 30 percent.

"Virtualization is nothing new [but] it's a critical tech that opens a path to automation."

Virtualization will also herald the ability to reconfigure virtual servers to suit applications, resulting in big performance improvements.