06 Jul 2009

Reduce expenditure 'by increasing energy efficiency'

Small and medium sized-businesses may fare the recession better if they take being environmentally friendly more seriously, a new report has suggested.

Making operations increasingly green can improve a company's market standing, as customers may view it as more responsible and ethically minded.

Green IT may also save companies money during a period where cost-cutting could be a current focal point.

The report by Business Insights noted that businesses in the FTSE 200 could save an average £305,000 a year by turning off their computers at night and switching to a greener PC.

Furthermore, greener hosting such as virtualisation can increase efficiency and reduce power and cooling costs, further saving money.

Business Insights noted: "The number of servers in data centers is increasing annually by 18 per cent. Virtualisation of servers in the data center can boost efficiency, dramatically cut power consumption and result in significant cost savings."

Organisations looking to save money via hosting solutions may find Microsoft's hosted exchange to be of assistance. Utilising hosted exchange may improve collaboration between employees, boosting their efficiency and making operations more productive.