It's not a good idea to start with a major green effort, such as consolidating data centers. Instead, begin with simpler things that will enable the IT department to develop a groundswell of support for the green concept. A good example of how to go green comes from the state of Delaware and its evolution from automated PC hibernation that dovetailed in to larger energy efficient initiatives.
IT professionals are not always the most popular people in an
organization. After all, much of the job involves telling people they
can have only a certain amount of access to a limited resource, while
also enforcing corporate policies that are typically handed down from
on high.
So when IT managers think about the implications of green computing,
many feel a bit reluctant to kick off such a program. Green computing
has the potential to rile users, while also introducing the risks
associated with implementing any new systems and processes.
That's why it's not a good idea to start with a major effort, such
as consolidating data centers. Instead, begin with simpler things that
will enable the IT department to develop a groundswell of support for
the green concept.
That's the approach taken by Rob Revels, telecom technologist for
the Delaware Department of Technology & Information (DTI). The
first element of the department's green revolution was a relatively
simple effort to leverage scripting tools from ScriptLogic to create a
set of routines that would, after a set period of time, automatically
send PCs into hibernation, spin down disk drives and turn off monitors.
By Revels' calculations, that step alone saved about 11 cents per
kilowatt hour. On an annual basis, that's about a $10,000 saving for
every 200 workstations.
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