On the other hand, 91% of senior IT professionals would hesitate to pay consultants a higher rate if they could deliver the project within budget.

The independent report, titled “Energy: The Currency of the Data Center,” showed that 48% of surveyed organizations had used consultants to advise on their latest data center developments. The results also demonstrated that whether or not consultants were used, there was no difference in the number of organizations experiencing problems with over-specification and underutilization.

“Many consultants are clearly not helping, and sometimes are even hindering, the data center construction process,” said Andy Ruhan, CEO of Sentrum. “Nearly a quarter of the organizations surveyed said that more recent developments in their data centers were over-specified and underutilized, and we know that over-specification results in higher energy costs. As an industry, we need to focus just as much on introducing high-level consulting at the outset of every project as we do on delivering quality construction.”

The research demonstrates a general lack of trust in consultants, with 23% of respondents believing they have been offered poor advice on specifications for a project, and 25% believing that projects were deliberately over-specified by the consultant to inflate their fees. This suggests a need for better quality controls for data center consulting.

“In response to this clear need for strong and trusted consulting, we launched Sentrum Construction Management,” Ruhan continues. "SCM will offer the highest possible levels of advice, through clear communication channels with clients, to ensure that construction projects are completed on time and within budget and are not over-specified or underutilized. Sentrum will continue to focus on providing ongoing consulting services to clients, ensuring that the data set is managed as efficiently as possible. We believe this will be an added value and contribute to their cost savings over time."