Greening Your Business Through Technology - WITSA

2ExecutiveSummaryGreenIT has the promise of delivering a low-cost operating model thatenables scalable growthAt one level, GreenIT is simply an efficiency agenda, one aimed at reducing waste andunnecessary spending. These initiatives are relatively easy and cheap to pursue and followthe ‘less is more’ theory.At some point, however, investment in newer, more energy efficient technologies will be requiredin order to reach deeper into the cost base.This is harder, more costly and requires an ethical driver. It’s all about ‘doing the right thing’.Figure 2: GreenIT Cookbook, OvumEfficientEasierCheap■ Cut waste – power devices down when not in use■ Minimalism – buying just enough IT to do the job(universal charge -> netbooks -> cloud computing)■ Telepresence – reducing travel and office facilities costs■ Audits – making energy usgae transparentHarderCostlyEthical■ Virtualisation & automation – increased utilisation offewer, simpler, devices (servers & desktop)■ New technology – new more energy effivient devices –data centres, disk drives, CPUs etc■ Device recycling – reducing toxic waste, reuse materials■ Green energy – solar, wind, geothermal© Copyright Ovum 2009“Businesses are under increasing pressure to cut business-as-usual costs whilst at the sametime creating capacity for continued innovation and platforms for sustainable growth.A further factor is the minimisation of the costs and risks that may arise from complianceand regulatory obligations. Energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions are becomingimportant considerations from both a cost-cutting and a future-growth perspective. CEOsknow that it will be in their best interests for the technologies that fuel the next wave of growthto be demonstrably efficient and clean.”Dr Steve Hodgkinson, Research Director, Ovumwww.ovum.comPage 8