Cutting IT Energy Usage: Going Green in the Digital Age

Written by Dan Blatter | Sep 26, 2011 8:32:00 PM

As business continues to go digital, IT departments and data centers play a crucial role in how we distribute, store and process information. The need for faster and more powerful servers, networking equipment, desktops and laptops has never been greater. But as more and more companies embark on sustainable operations, IT departments are left with a dilemma: how can IT and data center infrastructure reduce its footprint while maintaining high performance?

IT Energy Consumption

According to a study by Gartner, Inc., IT hardware consumed roughly 830 terawatt hours of energy in 2008, and is projected to consume more than 900 terawatt hours by 2012, despite improvements in hardware energy efficiency. Servers, monitors, desktops and laptops account for 47 percent of all IT electricity costs, making it the single largest category of IT energy consumption.

While some CEOs may look at the company’s electric bill and long for the days of filing cabinets and snail mail, IT professionals view the cost as a necessary investment in the company’s growth. Fortunately, however, there are several steps that can be taken to please both sides, while at the same time leaving a smaller footprint on the environment. Our friends over at GreenBiz.com list three simple steps that can be taken to cut energy use and costs with green IT.

Decommission Non-Useful Servers

It may come as somewhat of a surprise, but according to a study by 1E and the Alliance to Save Energy, 72 percent of data center managers believe that one in six servers are doing “no useful work”, or no longer performing tasks for which they were originally commissioned. Servers such as these cost an average of $4,400 per year in operational costs. By conducting an internal audit and consolidating server workloads, companies can save both money and energy by trimming extra IT fat.

Reign in PC and Laptop Power Consumption

Many people (this writer included) are guilty of occasionally leaving PCs on when not in use. In fact, according to a 1E and Alliance to Save Energy report on PC energy consumption in the United States, more than half of the 108 million corporate PCs in the U.S. are left on when not in use, even on nights and weekends.

Fortunately, this is an easy fix. By utilizing Windows power management settings, using Energy Star rated hardware, and simply shutting down at the end of the day, you’ll be cutting one of the main sources of IT energy waste.

Improve IT Asset Utilization

1E and Alliance to Save Energy commissioned a report on software license usage in the United States, and found that on average, companies have more than $400 of unused software per employee. Not only does this software take time and energy to manage, it’s also a huge drain on the company’s bottom line.

Though it will take some time and effort to overhaul a software portfolio that may be gathering dust, doing so could have an extremely beneficial impact on the budget and environment.

How is your organization integrating IT and sustainable business practices? Continue the conversation in the comment section below! And feel free to get in touch via the "Contact Us" page on servermonkey.com.

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