Green Is In Vogue

The color for this season is green. 'Go Green and Get Green' is the latest
mantra for partners. Translated for the layperson, it means get your clients to
adopt Green IT and in return you reap green bucks. This issue's cover story will
give you a better insight on the initiatives that vendors are undertaking to
take Green IT forward on an enterprise level. There is no doubt that rising
energy expenses are eating into the infrastructure costs of most enterprises.
Energy costs for most global companies have increased by 57 percent in the past
one year, making it a significant part of the operation expenditure.

According to an IBM white paper, it is widely assumed that a typical computer
uses about 0.65 kilowatts per hour (kWh) in use, or 0.35kWh (stand-by) and
.03kWh in hibernate mode. Assuming that the computer spends 220 working days
with 12 hours in operational mode (171kW) and 12 hours in standby mode (92kW),
and spends two hours in hibernate mode for the remaining one days (10kW), it
will consume 21kW of electricity. Now work out the cost of this single
computer's energy consumption and multiply it by the number of PCs that your
client might have in his network.

While proposing Green IT to your clients, maybe you should also take a moment
to see if your own organization is following its principles. It might mean that
you would have to change the way your people think about power consumption, but
in the long run it will only translate into better savings for you and a better
world for all.

This year we faced one of the most bitter winters in India, with Delhi almost
touching freezing point and Mumbai and other parts of the country experiencing
unprecedented climatic drops. This is an ominous sign that all those talks about
global warming and the greenhouse effect has moved out of the conference rooms
and has become a part of our daily lives.

Here are some ways that you can contribute to the Going Green brigade's
efforts for a better world. Try walking to work or carpooling when you travel.
In the former, you gain health and in the latter you save on petrol costs. Buy
local products, than the fancy imported stuff. Importing of perishable foodstuff
means using planes for transportation, which in turn burns up a lot of fuel.
Replace incandescent bulbs with longer-lasting, low-energy compact fluorescent
bulbs.

Filter the water from your tap for drinking rather than using bottled water.
Not only is bottled water expensive, but it produces large amounts of container
waste. Keep your electronics as long as possible and dispose them responsibly
when the time comes. Cut down on the amount of paper being used in your office
and home by reusing and recycling them. Not only will you save on the stationery
costs, but for every ton of paper that is recycled you can contribute towards
saving 7,000 gallons of water, 380 gallons of oil and enough electricity to
power an average house for six months.

These are some small steps you could consider and imbibe in your daily life
to make a difference to the world that we will leave behind for our kids.

vinita bhatia

vinitavs@cybermedia.co.in