As the economic climate continues to suffer around the world, many businesses are searching for cost cutting measures in an attempt to maximise profit margins. One area in which many are finding such a saving is in IT. A number of new and innovative technologies boast cost saving benefits, making this sector one in which businesses are focussing their efforts. Many of these technologies include services designed to cut power consumption and allow businesses to host services out-with their premises, therefore Green IT is also receiving a boost.
Cloud computing, virtualisation and SaaS technologies are among the services currently drawing a lot of attention from the media and businesses alike. These solutions are continuing to create profit during the downturn due to their unique cost cutting abilities. By choosing hosted services such as these, businesses are able to enjoy cutting edge technology and pass the benefits onto their customers without having to purchase hardware. Therefore, businesses are able to, for example, eliminate the need for physical servers on their premises, which not only saves the businesses money, but also works towards cutting their power consumption and emissions.
However, cost cutting concerns are not the sole reason for businesses increasingly searching for Green IT solutions and ways to be environmentally friendly. As the public perception of green issues increases, so does the importance of businesses ensuring that they are seen as doing their bit for the planet.
A Green IT report from Symantec Corp. in the summer of 2009 found that 97 per cent of respondents were at least discussing a Green IT strategy. Furthermore, 45 per cent indicated that they had already done so. The survey also revealed that CIOs were justifying these strategies for additional reasons to the cost saving benefits. According to Symantec, those surveyed cited things such as reducing electricity consumption (90 percent), reducing cooling costs (87 percent), and corporate pressure to be green (86 percent).
Green responsibility has therefore emerged as a driving force for IT during the recession as well as the obvious cost saving aspect. IT is a key area for businesses to think about revamping their green IT initiatives due to the many options available. The Symantec report also indicated that green initiatives often meant that businesses found themselves responsible for greening their data centres and accounting for their electricity consumption.
What's more, with 89 percent of those surveyed indicating that they believe that IT should play a significant role in green efforts, it's clear that many more businesses are set to turn to hosting solutions such as virtualisation, cloud computing and similar off-premise services in an effort to boost their green credentials.
About the Author:
Adam Singleton writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content