SMB Eager to Reap the Benefits of Green IT
Written by Kalpana Singhal
With the term Green emerging as the synonymous of increased profitability and savings, more and more small and medium businesses (SMBs) understand the benefits of being green.
At a time when most of the CIOs working within the SMB segment agree to the fact that saving is always on their mind, adoption of green is becoming strategically important for them.
Today, Green Computing is broadly defined as the study and practice of using computing resources efficiently in order to make sure that one gets maximum output from minimum input, hence increasing the productivity levels many folds. One of the most important objectives of adopting Green is to augment the existing bottom line for the companys operations.
This is an expanded spectrum of values and criteria for measuring organizational and societal success with an aim to cut use of hazardous materials and maximize efficiency of product life while promoting recyclability. Hence, the key driver for SMBs embracing Green IT measures is cost savings and all the technologies related to this concept are gaining high importance in the eyes of the CIOs working with SMBs.
The recently concluded summit on sustainable development in New Delhi brought into focus the environmental concerns affecting the society at large. Henceforth, reducing the carbon footprint of the nation is increasingly coming under scrutiny globally as well as locally in India. In such a situation, green computing is increasingly being seen as a way of IT implementation that offers a number of benefits, including cost reductions as well.
Need for Green
It is a well known fact that modern IT systems rely on a complicated mix of people, networks, software and hardware. In such a scenario Green IT can assure the IT decision makers that their IT systems will be at peace with nature as well. As such, a green computing initiative must be systematic in nature and should address increasingly sophisticated problems. Elements of such a solution may comprise items such as end-user satisfaction, management restructuring, regulatory compliance, disposal of electronic waste, telecommuting, and virtualization of server resources, energy use, thin client solutions and return on investment.
For most large businesses with extensive IT resources, the primary focus has been data centers. These account for the majority of resources used. SMBs do not have similar scale, but can still be environmentally conscious by opting for green solutions such as Energy Star rated appliances, low power consuming electronics, blade servers and virtualization technologies, among others.
2011 looks really exciting as far as popularity of Green IT is concerned among the SMB segment in the country. Today, SMBs are appreciating the value of going green given the wide range of benefits that get accumulated from prolonged usage of environmentally friendly products.
Green IT initiatives that are living up to the expectations:
Power Consumption Going Green
Almost all the SMBs are now looking to save their electricity bills. Hence, consumption of natural light becomes important. This can be done with some minimum efforts through environment friendly structural designs for office space. Organisations like TERI are playing an important role in this direction.
In addition to this, key players such as HP and IBM have now begun the manufacturing of low power consuming servers and PCs which utilize roughly 66 per cent of the power requirement of older system.
Thin clients have quite a few advantages such as space savings, easier to secure, and cost reductions due to lower IT management expenses, reduced energy consumption (a typical thin-client uses half the energy of a desktop) and more efficient use of computing resources.
Recycling- Going Green
Recycling in the business space can be achieved not just in paper usage but also in how electronic waste is handled. Paper waste can be minimized by double-sided printing, reusing single side printed sheets of paper and other methods etc.
Servers Going Green
Blade servers, though still nascent in adoption are technological breakthroughs in servers which provide the same computing power with much lower power utilization. A basic power management technique on computers can result in substantial energy savings due to their sheer number in the market.
At a time when most of the CIOs working within the SMB segment agree to the fact that saving is always on their mind, adoption of green is becoming strategically important for them.
Today, Green Computing is broadly defined as the study and practice of using computing resources efficiently in order to make sure that one gets maximum output from minimum input, hence increasing the productivity levels many folds. One of the most important objectives of adopting Green is to augment the existing bottom line for the companys operations.
This is an expanded spectrum of values and criteria for measuring organizational and societal success with an aim to cut use of hazardous materials and maximize efficiency of product life while promoting recyclability. Hence, the key driver for SMBs embracing Green IT measures is cost savings and all the technologies related to this concept are gaining high importance in the eyes of the CIOs working with SMBs.
The recently concluded summit on sustainable development in New Delhi brought into focus the environmental concerns affecting the society at large. Henceforth, reducing the carbon footprint of the nation is increasingly coming under scrutiny globally as well as locally in India. In such a situation, green computing is increasingly being seen as a way of IT implementation that offers a number of benefits, including cost reductions as well.
Need for Green
It is a well known fact that modern IT systems rely on a complicated mix of people, networks, software and hardware. In such a scenario Green IT can assure the IT decision makers that their IT systems will be at peace with nature as well. As such, a green computing initiative must be systematic in nature and should address increasingly sophisticated problems. Elements of such a solution may comprise items such as end-user satisfaction, management restructuring, regulatory compliance, disposal of electronic waste, telecommuting, and virtualization of server resources, energy use, thin client solutions and return on investment.
For most large businesses with extensive IT resources, the primary focus has been data centers. These account for the majority of resources used. SMBs do not have similar scale, but can still be environmentally conscious by opting for green solutions such as Energy Star rated appliances, low power consuming electronics, blade servers and virtualization technologies, among others.
2011 looks really exciting as far as popularity of Green IT is concerned among the SMB segment in the country. Today, SMBs are appreciating the value of going green given the wide range of benefits that get accumulated from prolonged usage of environmentally friendly products.
Green IT initiatives that are living up to the expectations:
Power Consumption Going Green
Almost all the SMBs are now looking to save their electricity bills. Hence, consumption of natural light becomes important. This can be done with some minimum efforts through environment friendly structural designs for office space. Organisations like TERI are playing an important role in this direction.
In addition to this, key players such as HP and IBM have now begun the manufacturing of low power consuming servers and PCs which utilize roughly 66 per cent of the power requirement of older system.
Thin clients have quite a few advantages such as space savings, easier to secure, and cost reductions due to lower IT management expenses, reduced energy consumption (a typical thin-client uses half the energy of a desktop) and more efficient use of computing resources.
Recycling- Going Green
Recycling in the business space can be achieved not just in paper usage but also in how electronic waste is handled. Paper waste can be minimized by double-sided printing, reusing single side printed sheets of paper and other methods etc.
Servers Going Green
Blade servers, though still nascent in adoption are technological breakthroughs in servers which provide the same computing power with much lower power utilization. A basic power management technique on computers can result in substantial energy savings due to their sheer number in the market.
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