18 Mar 2009

Green IT 'keeps businesses flexible'

Companies can employ green IT measures as a means of cutting costs in the current global financial crisis, according to a specialist.

Many money-saving actions can be constituted as green, according to Clive Longbottom, writing for ZDNet Asia.

"Some technologies can help keep enterprise IT flexible. Virtualisation allows you to not only consolidate existing applications onto fewer machines but also create a far more flexible environment," he comments.

Mr Longbottom adds that outsourcing the data centre to an external hosting provider is an even greener practice and also helps to remove variable costs.

Software-as-a-service and cloud services are further means of enhancing a company's green IT credentials while also increasing flexibility, the expert concludes.

Kerry Bailey, senior vice president of global services at sector specialist Verizon Business, recently claimed outsourcing can offer firms a way of strengthening performance while retaining a secure environment.