24 Nov 2008

Green IT solutions can save money, expert says

Businesses who adopt green IT will save money, according to Michael Dean of UK IT suppliers the National Computing Centre.

Mr Dean, group marketing manager at the firm, suggested that companies are behind the idea of a greener infrastructure in principle, but the current economic climate means they are less likely to opt for the up-front investment that is required to make their operations greener.

His comments come after a government green IT refresh programme, costing £3.8 million, published its improvements on November 13th.

The Department for the Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs' Renew IT initiative replaced old desktops across the government with laptops, which will generate power savings of up to 70 per cent and reduce travel costs.

But amid the current economic downturn, UK businesses might need some persuading before they are willing boost their outgoings on green IT in the short term, Mr Dean indicated.

He said: "Our research suggests that whilst organisations are happy to undertake 'easy to implement solutions', such as switching off power of PCs overnight and print management, capital investments are less likely to be signed off."