Green IT: How much conscience driven?

As organizations continue to adopt programs and practices to drive
environmental responsibility throughout the enterprise, IT is increasingly
important to the broader enterprise 'green' efforts. In a survey, 70 percent of
IT departments report they are now responsible or cross-charged for electricity,
providing a strong motivator for IT is to reduce energy costs.

This expands the role of the CIO from beyond the confines of IT to now being
included on non-technology areas, such as location and size of office space
addition, power consumption and utilization, HVAC selection and implementation.

All this and more points to a shift from implementing 'green' technologies
primarily for cost reduction purposes, to a more balanced awareness of also
improving the organization's environmental standing, as per Symantec findings of
its 2009 Green IT Report, a follow up to the Green data centre report released
in late 2007.

According to survey data, senior-level IT executives in India report
significant interest in green IT strategies and solutions, attributed to both
cost reduction and environmental responsibility.

Furthermore, 90 percent think IT should play a very significant role in
'green' efforts and 52 percent have a corporate green advocate, with more than
one-fifth focusing exclusively on IT initiatives.

Another area highlighted is that IT professionals are regularly deploying
several key initiatives for green IT purposes. Replacing old equipment was the
most popular strategy, with 88 percent reporting new energy efficient equipment
as part of their strategy, followed by monitoring power consumption (83
percent), server virtualization (73 percent), and server consolidation (66
percent). Additionally, more than half (54 percent) of respondents see
software-as-a-service offerings as 'green' solutions.

(Source: CIOL)