Sign up now to have "Greener IT Update" delivered fresh to your inbox every other week!

July 9, 2008 The State of the Art in Sustainable IT SLM Home | Green IT News & Ideas | Connections | Events | About

"Business Technology" and the Changing Role of IT I've said it before and I'll say it again: "In the past, your business depended on technology. Now, your business is embodied in technology." This quote is important to remember because it signifies a true changing of the guard - what we at Forrester Research like to call the IT (information technology) to BT (business technology) transformation. BT impacts everything from organizational structure, to governance, staffing skills and beyond. The result is that this “retooling” of IT will transform the role of technology into a strategic source of business value, not merely a drain on costs. A raft of recent news stories highlight how green IT can be a stepping stone in your organization’s path toward BT - while saving the money and resources at the same time: Alignment: Enabling corporate carbon reduction initiatives. Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Cisco have made pledges to reduce their companywide carbon footprint. In both of these cases, IT is viewed as a critical enabler to achieve this. Cisco expects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% in 2012 by employing videoconferencing to computerized facility management. Enterprise is migrating to a network of 45,000 thin clients across 7,000 offices, reducing annual carbon dioxide emissions by 6.5 million pounds and saving $500,000 in annual energy costs. Beyond Alignment: Assuming new responsibilities. IT has the opportunity to assume new responsibilities – such as facilities management – that can have a major impact on reducing companywide carbon emissions and expenses. According to a new report from the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) and the Climate Group, the broader application of technology could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 15% and save global industry $800 billion in annual energy costs by 2020. Beyond IT-centric solutions such data center efficiency or thin clients, IT organizations can assume control over new technologies – such as building and facilities management platforms – to measure, diagnose and resolve energy consumption. A solid green IT strategy can help IT executives further inspire the IT-to-BT transformation within their organizations. But be smart – treat green IT investments like any other IT investment by setting realistic expectations by analyzing the potential cost and carbon emission savings. ~Doug Washburn, SLM Advisor What do you think? Post Your Comment Here! Also This Week... 3D "Weather Maps" Boost Datacenter Efficiency European datacenter operator TeleCityGroup has signed on to test a new IT efficiency technology - a three-dimensional "weather map" that tracks air streams and heat releases within datacenter facilities. Read more... U.K.'s Largest Labor Union Demands Data on Companies' Eco-Performance Unite, the British labor union representing workers in the electronics and IT sectors, says it should have the right to access environmental performance data for the companies served by its members. Read more... HP Outlines How Its Products Can Save 1 Billion Tons of CO2 Hewlett-Packard has followed up its report Global IT Strategy for CO2 Reductions, co-produced by WWF International, with a whitepaper detailing how its green products can help businesses cut carbon emissions by 1 billion tons. Read more... Enterprise Rent-A-Car Touts Green Benefits of IT Upgrade Enterprise Rent-A-Car wants the world to know that its latest IT upgrade will not only streamline rental processes but also shave the company's carbon footprint by an estimated 6.5 million pounds each year. Read more... Cisco Aims to Cut Emissions 25% via Green Technology Cisco says it will cut its greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2012 with help from a suite of IT solutions, from videoconferencing to computerized facility management. Read more... Dell Server Power Supply Rated 92% Energy Efficient A Dell power supply unit has become the first to achieve 80 Plus Gold certification, which requires that server power supplies achieve a minimum 92% energy efficiency at 50% output capacity. Read more... More Green IT News & Tools... We want to hear from you! Post your comments or questions below any SLM news story and we'll feature the best of them here. (Note: You must be a registered SLM user to post. Not yet signed up? Click here!) Forward to a Friend! Transparency: The Mega-Force You Can't Totally Control Of all of the big forces coming to bear on companies - things like globalization, technology, and rising commodity prices - one of most powerful and difficult to manage is transparency. How much is too much...or too little? By Andrew Winston Read more... Solution Providers Microsoft’s PUE Experience This short series of articles describes how Microsoft uses Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), an industry standard metric for the efficiency of a datacenter. Read more... Find Peers and Partners If you haven’t already joined the fastest growing online sustainable business community, create a profile now and start connecting. Advertise on SLM! Become a Sustainable Life Media advertiser or sponsor and reach thousands of business leaders looking for product or service solutions to help them build their sustainability story. Click here to learn more.

Sustainable Life Media is home for business professionals looking to build new value and competitive advantage by innovating more sustainable processes, practices and products. We bring you top stories related to the what, who and how of environmental and social innovation, and help you connect with thought leaders, peers, partners and solutions providers that can help you quickly reach your goals. This work is licensed under a CreativeCommons License. Copyright Sustainable Life Media Inc. 2008

Terms of Use | Privacy | Unsubscribe | Contact | How We Can Help | Partners