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Jim Docherty explains how to reduce energy usage and save money across IT departments.

With energy prices likely to rise in the next few months and the government asserting greater pressure on the public and private sector to reduce carbon emissions with the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, power management is climbing the business agenda. One key area where finance teams can look to make immediate savings and long-term improvements is IT.

IT is one of the biggest consumers of electricity within a business and unless policies are in place to reduce use, this is one area that could see a steady increase in consumption. The resources needed to power and deliver on demand services, rich web and multimedia applications are increasing, as are the capabilities required to store and manage the burgeoning amount of data that is being created.

The ‘always-on’ culture that is emerging has little regard for the consequences of accessing those services – both in terms of cost and carbon emissions. Powering desktop computers that are on all the time when you have hundreds, if not thousands, of machines has serious cost and carbon implications. The average desktop uses 111 watts of power when active according to the EnergyStar and US Environmental Protection Agency figures, with monitors responsible for 60% of the energy consumed. So what can be done to combat the energy efficiency challenge of IT deployment?

We need to recognize the Green IT agenda and opportunities for saving money through effective configuration and management of our applications, operating systems and the underlying hardware. At the same time though in terms of efficiency and reducing costs, we should also identify our marginal support costs, looking at processes and best practice, what small steps can be taken to reduce unnecessary call outs and support calls. Simple things like monitoring, application and infrastructure consolidation or virtualization, and automated processes which might be combined with Green IT best practice to deliver a more effective and energy efficient IT solution. An interesting read with some good points do check it out.

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