Green IT deployment continues to grow: CIO survey

AUSTRALIA: Almost three-quarters of CIOs have deployed green IT within their organisation, with an additional eight per cent planning to do so by the end of 2012, finds new research from Ovum.

According to a survey* by the independent technology analyst, the number of organisations using green IT grew to 73 per cent in the second half of 2010, up from approximately 68 per cent in the first half, as tightened IT budgets and a sluggish economy forced IT decision-makers to scrutinise spending and wake up to the potential cost savings green IT can deliver.

Looking ahead to the end of 2012, Ovum’s survey revealed that a further eight per cent plan to deploy green IT.

In Australia, green IT penetration is, in part, being driven by anticipated carbon emissions-reduction legislation. While a proposed carbon cap-and-trade system has been proposed, a carbon tax is expected to be implemented next year. CIOs seem to be preparing for the eventuality of greater legislative pressure and plan to aggressively embrace green IT in the next couple of years.

Also, Rhonda Ascierto, Ovum analyst and author of a new report, commented: “The growth in global green IT penetration reflects a change of attitude by CIOs and other IT decision-makers. Previously, they considered green IT optional because they defined its value primarily in terms of corporate image, rather than the bottom line.

“It is now viewed as a core technology that delivers business value by cutting costs and increasing efficiency. We believe this change has occurred because of constrained IT budgets and a sluggish global economy in the wake of the recession, which forced organisations to scrutinise spending on all types of IT. Many CIOs have for the first time had to calculate a financial return on investment of green IT.”

Ovum surveyed CIOs about five major categories of green IT: data centre virtualisation, data centre power and cooling technologies, desktop virtualisation, printing and paper usage management, and power management tools for PCs and monitors. All will experience growth in penetration during the next couple of years.

Of these different areas of green IT, data centre virtualisation has the greatest penetration; with 53 per cent of the CIOs respondents in Australia saying they currently use it. According to Ovum’s survey, this figure will grow to almost 80 per cent of CIOs in Australia during the next couple of years.

Enterprises should generally consider green IT as being lean IT, Ascierto said. IT is often classified as green when it reduces resource consumption, typically electricity from fossil fuels. When less power is used, less carbon is emitted. Moreover, lower resource usage means lower costs. So, even if a business is not subject to carbon-reducing legislation or requirements, there is a strong business case for green IT, she said.