Green IT is the idea that IT organizations can and should look at
practices that are environmentally friendly. Rising energy costs
and recent legislation surrounding energy efficiency, toxic
materials and greenhouse gases in different parts of the world are
prompting IT leaders to pay more attention to Green IT.
Green IT vendors and technology providers have been aggressively
promoting the concept. However, in order for Green IT to make
business sense, the initiative must be environmentally effective
and economically efficient. Many IT managers wonder if this is hype
around “Eco Friendliness” or do Green IT benefits
include potential cost savings and improved financial performance.
Ultimately, it is the return on investment (ROI) that drives the
technology decision.
Over the last year, many end-user IT organizations have tried to
leverage Green IT concepts to deliver value to the business. In
fact, Green IT has become an excellent opportunity for IT
organizations to be role models for other functions in the company.
By incorporating Green IT methods, IT can transform from a service
organization into an enabler of business strategy and contributor
to business results, including serving as enablers of Green
business opportunities.
Getting Started
In many organizations, Green IT typically starts as a project,
often focusing on the data center with server virtualization and
consolidation being the priorities. This is partly due to the quick
ROI that can be delivered in these initiatives.
Green IT stretches beyond data center optimization of course to
unified communications, end-user computing and every part of the IT
Infrastructure. It is about managing all of our projects and
services mindful of energy and environmental impact. It must
encompass our supplier relationships, roadmaps and technology
lifecycle.
Long term, Green IT is not a project that has a specific end date,
but a program that will need to continue over the years to unlock
additional opportunities. IT organizations will have more success
if Green IT strategies are a part of standard operating
procedures.
Some of the key Green IT strategies include:
#1 Data center
Optimization
Improvement in cooling systems,
better airflow through hot aisle/cold aisle alignment and
self-contained micro-environments can go a long way to reducing
energy consumption. In most organizations, the cost of maintaining
data center facilities may well be in the facilities budget rather
than in IT, so be sure to partner with other stakeholders early and
identify goals and metrics that all parties can support.
A reduction in the firm’s electricity bill is usually the
most tangible and easiest Green IT goal to calculate. For the data
centers, companies should measure the ratio of total power into the
data center against the power that gets into the computing systems
(the rest goes for auxiliary equipment including power
distribution, lighting, cooling etc). The Green Grid Consortium
defines this power usage effectiveness (PUE) ratio as PUE = total
facility power or IT equipment power. In practice, Green Grid
estimates that 77 percent of the total power going to IT equipment
is considered as good rating. This is an area where facilities and
IT need to team up since the company may need to consider
instrumentation of electricity usage.