Does Green IT Exist?

According to Wikipedia, green IT is alive and strong:

The goals of green computing are similar to green chemistry; reduce the use of hazardous materials, maximize energy efficiency during the product's lifetime, and promote the recyclable or biodegradability of defunct products and factory waste. Research continues into key areas such as making the use of computers as energy-efficient as possible, and designing algorithms and systems for efficiency-related computer technologies.

And Google has launched a major green initiative with $350 million on the line:

Whether we’re deciding how best to invest $350 million in renewable energy or wondering how technology can help Amazonian tribes protect their land, questions are at the heart of our green efforts. Our search for answers often leads to changes in operations, sparks innovative research or reveals opportunities for collaboration. Our learning process is ongoing, but the questions we ask — and the answers we discover — bring us closer to true sustainability.

Spending money for the sake of being green, like installing $15k solar panels that will take 100 years to generate a return, is at least impractical and at worst more wasteful than the “green” label might imply. A truly green solution saves you money because it is more efficient, and therefor, less wasteful than alternatives. You may want to reduce CO2 emissions to save the environment, or you can think that being green is just a marketing label, but would like to save money. Either way, you can save money and gain power by taking advantage of virtualization technologies. Virtualization is considered a green IT solution because it reduces both cost and CO2 emissions.

The problem with current IT configurations is that businesses are unnecessarily paying for an inefficient system. Most computer servers run at an average of 15% utilization. The other 85% sits idle consuming energy, producing nothing in return. Virtualization dynamically allocates resources among servers to increase utilization and efficiency. You can save CO2 and money by deploying a virtualization solution and open up new possibilities. Add in Telecommuting to your strategy and you see an increase in employee availability and productivity. Whatever green means to you, it is great to have a concern for the environment and how you might effect it. To DynaSis, green IT means increasing efficiency while using less power, providing telecommuting where applicable and leveraging technologies to do our part. So does green IT exisit? We think so!