“By utilising virtualisation technology across the data centre companies can now dramatically reduce power consumption by reducing the number of physical machines and associated air conditioning.
In addition, the latest thin client devices that are used in a virtual desktop environment require at most 30% of the power of the PCs they replace – and that includes the proportion of server power they require. They are highly recyclable and have a far longer lifespan, reducing the lifetime acquisition and disposal costs.
But greener IT is not just about reassessing the IT infrastructure to drive down the carbon impact; it is about working practices. For example, would home or remote working reduce employee travel significantly? Can video conferencing cut down travel to meetings? And can hot-desking significantly reduce the desktop infrastructure?
Critically, with the right approach, sustainable business is not just about meeting targets and being seen to be green but actually adopting efficient, well managed processes that deliver quantifiable benefit to the bottom line.”