According to a new report and survey from ICT analysts Ovum, the number of organisations using green IT grew to 73 per cent in the second half of 2010, up from 68 per cent in the first half. Rhonda Ascierto, Ovum analyst and report author, attributed the increase to tighter IT budgets and a sluggish economy, which forced IT decision-makers to scrutinise spending and evaluate the potential cost savings green IT can deliver. She added:
“The growth in global green IT penetration reflects a change of attitude by CIOs and other IT decision-makers. Previously, they considered green IT optional because they defined its value primarily in terms of corporate image, rather than the bottom line.
It is now viewed as a core technology that delivers business value by cutting costs and increasing efficiency. Many CIOs have for the first time had to calculate a financial return on investment of green IT.”
Looking ahead to the end of 2012, Ovum’s survey revealed that a further eight per cent plan to deploy green IT.
Ovum surveyed CIOs about five major categories of green IT: data centre virtualisation, data centre power and cooling technologies, desktop virtualisation, printing and paper usage management, and power management tools for PCs and monitors. The results indicate that all categories will experience growth in penetration during the next couple of years.
Of these different Green IT areas, data centre virtualisation has the greatest penetration. For example, 53 per cent of the CIOs respondents in Australia say they currently use it, and this figure is expected to increase to almost 80 per cent during the next couple of years.
Ascierto added that IT is often classified as green when it reduces resource consumption, typically electricity from fossil fuels:
“When less power is used, less carbon is emitted. Moreover, lower resource usage means lower costs. So, even if a business is not subject to carbon-reducing legislation or requirements, there is a strong business case for green IT.”
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