Green Technology


April 16, 2008

Green Technology -It's Not Easy Going Green, Study Finds

By Greg Galitzine

As expected, many IT organizations find themselves talking the green talk, but when it comes to walking the walk? Not so much.
 
According to the findings of a recent survey conducted by the Business Performance Management (BPM) Forum, “most IT managers give their operations failing grades in reducing energy consumption.”
 
The study was designed to research the issues and opportunities that so-called “green” computing poses and how IT organizations were balancing increased energy and performance needs and the need to more effectively manage waste in the data center. Over 150 IT professionals responded to the online survey, which was conducted in February, 2008.
 
The study, Lean & Green – Reducing IT Energy Drain for Business Gain, was sponsored by network storage provider, BlueArc.
 
According to the study approximately 75 percent of respondents believe their own organizations could muster no better than a “C” grade when it came to controlling energy consumption. Surprisingly for all the attention being paid to operating in a more environmentally friendly manner, nearly two-thirds of respondents claimed to have no specific plans in place for greening their data centers.
 
Other findings from the report include:
  • Nearly 20 percent of those polled spend more than $1 million per year on IT energy consumption, and eight percent spend more than $10 million
  • Nearly 20 percent of respondents set goals of 5 percent energy reduction or less, and almost two-thirds had set goals of 25 percent reduction or less
  • Almost half of those polled said IT energy consumption increased in their organization last year, even as the cost of energy rose
  • Forty-six percent of respondents reported that they had run out of space, power or cooling capacity
 
“The results of the study point to a gap between what IT leadership knows it needs to do and what it has accomplished to date in terms of environmental responsibility,” said Derek Kober, Director of the BPM Forum. “In polling the marketplace and talking with industry leaders, we have heard that there are opportunities for those that deliver on the environmental promise to also save substantial costs and drive revenue opportunities through more efficient and enhanced data performance practices.”
 
The report also pointed out that while over 62 percent of respondents have heard their management push (however slightly) for green computing initiatives, the excuses kept rolling in. The number one excuse cited for not going green fast enough was a lack of policies in place to guide the process, followed closely by a lack of time to affect the changes and being too busy to create a program to follow.
 
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Greg Galitzine (News - Alert) is editorial director of TMCnet. To read more of Greg’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
 
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.
 
 
 

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