Energy efficiency is now top of the agenda for data centres, suggests new research.

Business and software firm Oracle suggests many businesses have been caught off guard by the huge amount of data they now have to process, which is driven by a rise in IT and smartphone use.

With many firms turning to data centres to help cope, energy efficiency at these centres is increasingly important when it comes to saving money on energy bills and keeping in line with green policies, the Oracle research suggests.

According to a survey of nearly 1,000 senior IT managers in data centres from 10 countries, the number of data centre managers who see a copy of their energy bill has risen by almost a tenth (from 43 to 52%) in half a year.

The survey also found sustainability rose from being least important to one of the biggest priorities.