Do SMEs need to adopt a Green IT stance?
As the carbon footprint debate continues so does the issue of Green IT and whether it’s practical and cost-effective for businesses to adopt. The results from the recent Green IT UK Corporate Census 2008 study have been published this week showing 55% of IT managers recognise the importance of Green IT within operations. But what does this mean for SMEs?
Firstly SMEs need to take into account the Green IT road as a whole. By adopting a Green IT stance businesses need to consider the whole supply chain that a particular piece of hardware/technology comes from rather than just the energy savings it may appear to deliver. It is no good for SMEs to save energy in the workplace if the whole supply chain is contradictory to this.
Secondly, a proactive approach SMEs can adopt is refining their infrastructure. Green IT is increasingly finding its way into discussions about SME sustainability and it is something that can be implemented but will involve an initial outlay and some disruptance to day-to-day runnings. However, the long-term benefits outweigh these considerably. With this in mind virtualising parts of the IT Infrastructure can be a move for consideration, especially on the desktop. This means a requirement for less hardware and therefore less energy consumption and CO2 footprint.
The results of the report found that just under 80% of IT managers are deploying, piloting or assessing the use of virtualisation technology to support their Green IT strategy.
The idea is for a single physical computer to simultaneously run multiple virtual PCs each with its own operating system. Each of these virtual servers is then allocated individual portions of CPU power, hard disk space and of course storage.
Ultimately, it can provide SMEs with a malleable solution that can dynamically grow to meet increasing business needs without the additional costs of hardware. New PCs and servers are hosted virtually and old machines can be recycled to virtually host applications.
The benefits of virtualisation as one avenue of Green IT are numerous. It may increase staff productivity as different applications, such as PC and Mac software, can run side by side without needing another physical computer. There are considerable management savings also due to the virtual PC not having to be physically on a desk, meaning less hardware to maintain and simpler back-up operations.
Green IT does not have to be seen as something only the major corporations can explore and afford. There are tools and applications in place that SMEs can adopt that will make a measurable difference in the long-run and help reduce the carbon footprint left by them.
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2008.10.10 (LM)
