Green IT now essential

By Staff Writer for Symantec
Johannesburg, 01 Jun 2009

Symantec's 2009 Green IT Report shows senior-level IT executives are increasing green IT budgets and placing energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly computing high on companies' agendas.

The Green IT Report, a follow-up to Symantec's 2007 Green Data Centre survey, indicates a clear shift from green IT being implemented primarily as a cost-reduction initiative to companies adopting it to improve their environmental standing.

“Over the past 12 months, IT has emerged as a new driving force in implementing green initiatives, not only for energy savings benefits, but also as a result of widespread desire to implement environmentally responsible practices,” says Sheldon Hand, storage specialist at Symantec.

Of the respondents, 97% indicated they are discussing a green IT strategy and 45% say they have already implemented green IT initiatives.

Respondents cited reducing electricity consumption (90%), reducing cooling costs (87%), and corporate pressure to be 'green' (86%) as key drivers to implementing green IT solutions. Some 83% of respondents say they are now responsible or cross-charged for electricity consumption in the data centre.

“The pendulum has swung both ways and IT is now taking a balanced approach that is more integral to an organisation's 'green' strategy, proven by the fact that the vast majority of respondents are now responsible for the energy costs of their data centre,” Hand adds.

The report also shows IT executives are putting significantly more into green IT budgets, with 73% expecting to increase green IT budgets over the next 12 months, and 19% expecting an increase of over 10%.

Symantec notes that IT departments are willing to pay a premium for energy-efficient products. The report reveals that two-thirds of respondents would pay at least 10% more, and 41% are prepared to pay at least 20% more.

Replacing old equipment is the most popular approach to green IT investment, according to the study, as 95% of respondents reported new energy-efficient equipment as part of their strategy. This was followed by monitoring power consumption (94%), server virtualisation (94%), and server consolidation (93%).