IBM plans to undertake a major consolidation project for its internal data centre system, cutting 3,900 servers down to 30.

The move will see Big Blue's global server network replaced by a series of 30 new mainframes. The network will span across Colorado, New York and Connecticut to Porstmouth, Osaka, and Sydney.

IBM is touting the move as a major environmental gain, claiming that the new data centre system will require 80 per cent less electricity to run.

The consolidation also, however, serves as a marketing campaign for the company's mainframe systems. Big Blue plans to use its own System z machines in the new network. The mainfames will run virtualised Linux operating systems.

The IBM data centre system currently occupies more than 8m square feet of physical space and serves more than 350,000 users. Over the last 10 years the company has reduced its number of data centres from 155 to 7.

Once the transition is completed, the 3,900 servers will be turned over to the company's Global Asset Recovery Services to be recycled.

IBM is not the first company to look to data centre consolidation in order to reduce energy consumption. Rival firm HP is in the process of reducing its total number of data centres from 87 to six, a move which HP claims will yield a 40 per cent increase in energy efficiency.

Both companies are also using the consolidations to court an IT market that is become increasingly conscious of power efficiency as energy costs continue to climb and environmental impact becomes a bigger issue.

A 2006 study by Sun suggested that as many as 76 per cent of executives considered energy efficiency a major factor in IT purchases.