Counter intuitively, the hardest part of realizing a decent data infrastructure is not the hardware or technology choice, but the design and architecture of your information system.

FORBES: 4 Steps to Turning Big Data into Business Impact

Bernd Kosch, green IT advisor, Fujitsu Technology Solutions: Among the various green benefits of the cloud computing paradigm, there is one which is exceptionally striking: cloud computing enables small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to take full advantage of very large scale data centre technology, including the latest, most energy-efficient hardware provided in the shortest refresh cycles and leading facility-related infrastructure with advanced power utilisation effectiveness.

FORBES: Cloud Computing's Hidden 'Green' Benefits

Intel and Facebook have long been technology collaboration partners on hardware and software optimizations to drive more efficiency and scale for Facebook data centers.

ENGADGET: Facebook's Open Compute Project splits up monolithic servers with help from Intel, more