Go green with IT: save the planet and your budget

Let's face the facts: IT is a power hog. Even an environment with just a few desktops and servers can draw large amounts of power if not properly managed. If recent research from Intel is to be believed, a staggering eighty percent of businesses have never conducted an energy audit and only 29 percent of businesses are investing in energy-efficient hardware. So what's keeping IT from reducing power consumption? According to Daniel Fliescher, a senior research analyst at IDC, it may be the misconception that reducing consumption requires significant investment. "I think there is still a perception among CIOs that it costs money to go green," Fliescher said. The fact is, however, that reducing your consumption can greatly reduce costs, as the energy bill is one of the primary areas where IT makes its mark on the budget. Nowadays, power-efficient PCs are no more costly than their power hungry brethren, as one analyst points out. There are even some steps you can take toward reducing consumption that don't require investing in new hardware: allowing PCs to go to sleep at night, for example. Cost savings aside, IT power consumption is believed to be a major contributor to global warming. And that spells bad news for everyone. As Gordon Graylish, head of Intel for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, says, "I care about it because the world won't be a great market if it's all bubbling away and half is under water." Couldn't have said it better myself, Gordon.  

For more on green IT:
- see this CNET article