Vendors Push Green IT, Are You Ready To Buy?

May 10, 2007

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While 85 percent of IT professionals surveyed in a new Forrester report said environmental factors are important in planning IT operations, only one-quarter said they have written green criteria into their company’s purchasing processes.

Vendors such as Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco, Dell, EMC, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, and Sun Microsystems are investing significant resources in green initiatives such as energy-efficient servers, data center power and cooling solutions, cleaner manufacturing, and device recycling programs. But is the market listening? And what will it take to sway IT buyers to go green?

The Forrester survey found that IT buyers want to hear more about vendors’ efforts to design and market more environmentally responsible products and services. Only 15 percent of the IT professionals surveyed said they have a high level of awareness of vendors’ green initiatives, and most said they were hearing little or nothing from top-tier vendors about green solutions.

Data Ceneter Energy Use Background:

Government involvement in computer efficiency is increasing. In a letter to computing-industry representatives, the EPA said it “is initiating its process to develop an Energy Star specification for enterprise computer servers. President Bush signed a bill that urges Americans to buy energy-efficient servers, and the Department of Energy has begun trying to get involved in helping companies become more energy-efficient. Technology companies including Google, IBM, Microsoft, Cisco, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard met with DOE officials last month to discuss fears that volatile and expensive energy could hinder the tech sector.

Computer companies have also been rolling out new energy-efficient products recently. Dell has unveiled two PowerEdgeservers that the company says underscores its commitment to environmental responsibility and its goal to design the most energy-efficient products.

Dell’s not alone – manufacturers such as IBM, HP and Sun have made recent announcements concerning the energy efficiency of their systems. IBM recently announced that it would launch a new business unit in 2007 that will focus on environmental technologies. Hewlett-Packard announced a new energy management system, dubbed HP Dynamic Smart Cooling, that’s designed to deliver 20 to 45 percent savings in cooling energy costs. In addition, Sun has unveiled its Project BlackBox.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced that it is leading a nationwide coalition of utilities to tackle energy efficiency programs for the high tech sector, focusing on data centers and incentives for energy efficiency.

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