SCOTTSDALE, — Green IT will eventually shift its focus to the LAN switch, one of the biggest energy guzzlers of devices, according to a new trends report.

In-Stat released market research Monday that found that switch vendors who adapt to energy efficiency soonest will develop a competitive edge. The researcher found that shipments of power across Ethernet ports have tripled since 2005; the ports can consume more than 10 times more energy than standard ports.

"As many businesses develop green initiatives using best practices published by organizations like the Green Grid, IT managers will be forced to absorb some degree of responsibility for their organization's power usage," said In-Stat Analyst Victoria Fodale, In-Stat. "The role of energy efficiency will grow considerably in importance for future equipment purchases."

Green Networking Equipment: Who Leads and Who Lags found that seemingly similar switches that can perform the same tasks often display significant energy efficiency differences across vendors.

The report, which costs $995, analyzes market shares for various Ethernet switch vendors, as well as strategies being pursued by vendors to increase energy efficiency.