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How Companies Can Make a Difference for the Environment

IT (information technology) consists of more than just data centers. It includes all the firm’s devices, electronics and it absorbs immense amounts of energy. Furthermore, IT contributes significantly to greenhouse gasses, which fuel the global warming.

Thus, in accordance with both cost-effectiveness and social responsibility, organizations should concentrate on making their processes and operations energy efficient.

Who Should “The Greening of IT”? And Why?

As traditional energy sources face scarcity, the price of electricity escalates. Therefore, businesses increasingly confront the need to find new approaches towards achieving energy efficiency.

His writing is informative and comprehensive and offers case studies and best practices of companies that succeeded moving to green IT. His insightful and practical “The Greening of IT” is a recommended read for leaders and IT professionals.

On the one side, the text is simple enough for executives to understand it. And on the other hand, Lamb incorporates enough specialized information to provide additional usefulness for IT specialists who want to explore the topic in more depth.

About John Lamb

John Lamb holds a holds a B.A. degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. in Engineering Science at the University of California at Berkeley.

He is an IBM Senior Certified IT Architect and is a Senior Technical Staff Member at IBM Global Business Services in New York.

Furthermore, Lamb is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and is part of the ASME. He has written and published over 50 technical articles and has coauthored four books.

“The Greening of IT Summary”

On the bright side, greening the IT unit is not as difficult as it seems. For instance, companies can develop a routine for replacing their old technology with a new, more energy efficient one. The development of virtual computing also affects the data-center costs.

Sadly, surveys show that only one of four companies care about the green criteria of IT. However, as time passes, more and more organizations seem to be starting to adopt the idea of green technologies.

Usually, IT departments and professionals are not concerned about the cost of equipment maintenance. The companies typically calculate power expenses according to square footage, and not usage. Hence, companies need to change the mindset of the employees.

Energy efficiency should become part of the portfolio of the IT departments’ leaders, and they should start considering it as a priority. Only then can firms become able to start walking the “greener” path.

Governments often offer businesses financial stimulus to heighten energy efficiency and move towards green IT solutions. In some countries, utility companies provide incentives too.

What drives them are the humongous expenses they face when they construct or expand power plants. Consequently, it is in their interest when their consumers use less energy.

Going greener can include several advances. You can lessen the company’s carbon footprints, utilizing more efficient hardware, incorporating technologies which use alternative energy, recycling waste, etc.  

Server consolidation is an essential method for decreasing the data center’s energy usage. Additionally, server consolidation reduces space requirements.

There are several areas to which you should focus to achieve “greening” your IT operations. First, hire professionals to study your data center’s energy utilization. Audits like this can help you pinpoint the equipment that needs replacement.

Soon, different devices able to assess the energy consumption of the apparatus should also be accessible. Next, don’t forget the importance of coordination of all the concerned parties. Explain the goal to everyone, but be sure to appoint one person in charge of the process.

Also, consider cloud computing, which empowers sharing computing capacity. Many advantages characterize cloud computing. One of the most vital ones is allowing companies to establish their framework in zones with lessened power and cheaper space expenses, all the while enabling them to share capacity.

Of course, in the end, the best way to go green is to create a data center from scratch. If you have the opportunity to do that, make sure you install only the latest equipment and the current cooling solutions.

Key Lessons from “The Greening of IT”

1.      Consolidate and virtualize
2.      Server maintenance
3.      Cooling

Consolidate and virtualize

Try to centralize your IT equipment to decrease the energy needs. Use up-to-date versions of IT apparatus, since advancements in technology develop machines that are more efficient than older versions.

Step into virtualization. It allows you to cut back on hardware and gain more flexibility. New technology empowers you to move to full virtualization and achieve significant improvements.

Server maintenance

Take special care of your equipment. Turn off or put computers to sleep to decrease the use of energy. Avoid using screen savers since they consume a lot of power, and use the “power saver” feature. Assess the apparatus continually.

Make sure you dispose of old machines by environmentally friendly means and replace them with newer, more efficient versions.

Cooling

Cooling is one of the vital energy consuming practices you have to bear in mind. Supplemental or in-row cooling units use power more efficiently compared to large air conditioners.

Other than that, large air conditioners take up more space, since they have the perimeter of a computer room.

You can even think of ways to use “free cooling,” or in other words try to practice the cold outside air as a cooling technique.

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“The Greening of IT” Quotes

Our Critical Review

Associations of any size that spend intensely on their (IT) operations can spare cash and help the environment by practicing environmental awareness in IT. In this book, John Lamb puts across the concrete steps companies can take to go green.