As we've covered fairly often lately, more and more businesses are adopting virtualization and cloud computing as a way to cut costs, boost their computing power, and/or cut their carbon footprint.

Whether they're using third-party cloud services or setting up their own off-site data centers, we expect to see much more outsourcing, and even offshoring of computing facilities as the idea of remote computing becomes more normalized.

So it caught my eye last week when Ronald Bowman, the executive vice president of Tishman Technologies, sent around a list of the 10 best countries in which to build your next data center.

Bowman's list is based on the following eight criteria:

1. Access to reliable and scalable power inclusive of the generating cost of CO2
emissions.
2. Access to cooling solutions, including potable and grey water with free
cooling options.
3. Confluence of last-mile, long-haul, and submersible cable connectivity.
Scalable and burstable optics of Central Offices (CO's) and Network Access
Points.
4. Relevant government, as well as civilian stability and security.
5. Possible composite Acts of God risks: disasters, duration, and consequences.
6. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) inclusive of VAT, sales, personal property,
tariffs, one-time improvements, operating expenses, and escalation of same.
7. Access and reliability to human resources (and vendors) for multi-cultural
and multi-lingual operations and sustainability (closeness to critical mass of
IT and people).
8. Existing and potential eco-friendly and renewable energy conservation and
energy creation to enhance assets.

Note that three and possibly four of these criteria are key tenets of green IT: calculated CO2 emissions as part of the cost of operations, free cooling or recycled water for cooling, use of renewable energy, and then my own personal take is that any time you start talking about the TCO of your IT department, you're talking about energy efficient, green IT.

So which countries made Bowman's cut? It is, once again, a mix of green and not-so-green locales. Of the top 10, the following are decidedly green, although they may have complications from other areas:

1. Reykjavík, Iceland
4. Latvia
6. Russia
7. Canada

According to Statistics Iceland, the country generates 82.1 percent of its energy from renewable sources (15 percent hydro, 67.1 percent geothermal), and obviously the country has roughly 100 percent free cooling-friendly weather (if your target is below 75 degrees F.).

Latvia and Russia offer much the same temperature, with Latvia in particular generating much of its energy from hydropower (per the state-owned utility Latvenergo).

Bowman also puts the United States at the top of the list, but picks North Carolina and Tennessee as the go-to locations in the U.S. for the combination of labor costs, energy costs and fiberoptics availability rather than for the potential for free cooling in some of the northern or higher-altitude regions of the country.

Bowman's full list is as follows, as well as the reasons and municipalities he chose for adding each of these firms to the list.

1. Reykjavík, Iceland: Low-energy cost, free cooling

2. United States (North Carolina & Tennessee): Low-energy cost, favorable labor, and fiber optics
i. North Carolina
ii. Tennessee

3. China/Vietnam: Extraordinary demand and new/diverse fiber optic routes in place
i. Shanghai perimeter
ii. Ho Chi Minh City
iii. Hong Kong
iv. Shantou (submersible, fiber-optic landing point)
v. Beijing

4. Latvia: Low-cost hydro power, favorable labor

5. India: Extraordinary demand, favorable labor
i. Mumbai
ii. Bangalore
iii. Jakarta (Indonesia)

6. Russia: Favorable telecom, free cooling, favorable labor
i. St. Petersburg perimeter
ii. Moscow

7. Canada: Favorable labor, free cooling, favorable telecom
i. Vancouver
ii. Toronto

8. Japan: Extraordinary demand, favorable telecom
i. Tokyo
ii. Kobe

9. New Zealand: Strategic location, green power, favorable labor

10. United Arab Emirates: Strategic location, favorable labor, telecom
i. Dubai
ii. Abu Dhabi