2Sustain

Green IT is getting a lot of press these days, and that’s not surprising. After all, companies are learning that green IT initiatives can yield immediate cost reduction benefits, in addition to a decreased environmental footprint. Results of a recent survey from IBM and Info-Tech Research Group confirm this trend. The study found that businesses who adopt green IT strategies are realizing significant cost savings and business value, in addition to superior environmental performance.

Info-Tech surveyed more than 1,000 IT professionals in mid-size businesses, from 12 countries and eight industries. The 20-page report, “Green IT: Why Mid-size Companies Are Investing Now,” takes a look at IT initiatives in four major groups:

• Virtualization and consolidation
  • server virtualization and consolidation
  • storage consolidation
  • desktop virtualization

• Energy efficiency
  • server room upgrades and new builds
  • IT energy measurement
  • printer consolidation
  • power management

• Travel reduction
  • remote conferencing and collaboration
  • telecommuting

• Asset Disposal
  • IT equipment recycling

Half of the survey respondents said their company is either piloting or implementing at least one of these green IT initiatives. The most popular programs are storage consolidation, remote conferencing, and telecommuting, and the survey found that controlling cost is the strongest driving factor across all 11 initiatives. 60% of respondents said they implemented green IT programs for business reasons; 40% cited environmental concerns. Companies found that they realized cost-savings thanks to:

• decreased electricity use

• decreased consumable use

• decreased future operational expenses or investments

• credits or rebates from local utilities and governments

In addition, survey participants reported that green IT initiatives increased features and functionality of the business and helped companies better meet customers’ demands.

It’s interesting to note that 65% of respondents said that overall, their green IT projects met or exceeded initial goals. In some specific areas, success rates were even higher. For instance, over 70% of virtualization projects realized important benefits, such as decreased future investment needed for storage/server devices and decreased space needed to house storage/server devices. Server room upgrades were similarly successful. The report highlights several businesses that have launched winning green IT projects, and with regard to server room upgrades, there’s a great example of a Danish manufacturer that upgraded cooling technology in its server room. As a result, this company expects to cuts its energy costs 65-80%.

What are the key factors for a successful green IT project? This report identifies three:

• stakeholder support

• lack of implementation barriers

• economic tradeoffs

These survey results are worthwhile reading because as the authors appropriately conclude, businesses are going to have to become more environmentally responsible as pressure from stakeholders and the government continues to increase. Green IT can produce cost savings while helping you reduce your environmental footprint –and that’s why, now more than ever, it makes good sense to turn to green IT as a fundamental component of your sustainability plan.