The need for IT to get greener and more available

http://www.whatpc.co.uk/business-green/analysis/
2216332/transforming-footprints

Floods, droughts, food shortages and mass migration are just some of the consequences of climate change. The floods in the UK and the forest fires and hurricanes in the US provided a preview of the effects climate change could have on our planet. But financial services firms must start to think about how these physical threats will affect their ability to do business in the future. This article, the third in this series on environmental risk, looks at what the banks need to consider regarding their physical soundness and environmental policies.

Flooding and resulting power failure is perhaps the most immediate threat to financial services firms, particularly those in London. The recent threat of a tidal surge up the Thames and fears that the Thames Barrier could be overwhelmed, coupled with the extensive flooding in Gloucestershire and Yorkshire last year, have brought the importance of business continuity management into sharp relief for banks.

An interesting read, there are several drivers to reducing the energy consumption of the data center, and in improving IT infrastructure resilience.

From an energy efficiency standpoint, becoming more efficient is ever more important as the costs of energy continue to rise, as the availability of data center space falls and as the business requirements continue to change and become ever more time critical.

From a resilience as the IT becomes ever more integrated into the way we do business, not only do regulations and compliance require our systems be resilient, available in the event of a data center type failure, it’s becoming ever less acceptable. I (we) just expect it to work, as people become more computer literate, ‘the system is down’ response can be the difference between you using that service or switching to a competitor. If you can’t provide my mobile phone service and allow me to call to make changes to my account, I will find a provider that can.