Accenture, CGI, Deloitte and IBM have emerged as leaders in the global market for the design and implementation of IT systems that support energy and environmental management, according to a Verdantix study.
Green Quadrant: Sustainable Technology Services (Global) 2013 says several factors distinguish these suppliers from the 12 other suppliers analyzed in the report, including:
- A core team that drives innovation and growth.
- Linkage at the top to monetize internal sustainability investments.
- Strategic acquisitions to achieve a critical mass of expertise and relationships.
- Broad portfolio of offerings across energy, sustainability and environment, health and safety (EH&S).
- Consulting expertise to free up cash for new client projects.
- Credible internal sustainability program.
- Marketing of sustainability ideas and capabilities.
In addition to the four standout leaders, another four IT services firms – Atos, Dimension Data, TCS and Wipro – are also positioned in the leaders’ quadrant.
In the last 12 months, Dimension Data has emerged as a strong player in the design and implementation of IT energy systems for buildings and data centers, according to the report. Another new entrant to the leaders’ quadrant, TCS, has a broad set of capabilities with a strong play in IT systems for manufacturing energy management, Verdantix says.
According to the customer panel, IBM, HP and Deloitte have achieved the highest level of brand awareness for their offerings across energy and environmental management. In a separate Verdantix global survey of 250 heads of energy, these three tech companies achieved the highest brand awareness scores.
According to the customer panel, 93 percent of survey respondents say they have invested in environmental management, sustainability performance management and renewable energy systems in the past two years (see chart). Some 53 percent of respondents say they expect to get advisory help on their manufacturing plant energy systems in the next two years. Additionally, 53 percent expect advisory help on sustainability performance management and 47 percent expect to seek advisory help on environmental management.
One hundred percent of the customers surveyed say an ethical supply chain policy is important when selecting a supplier in an RFP process, with scores of 80 percent for waste and recycling, and 70 percent for carbon reduction.