Broadly, to effectively “green” an organization’s information technology capabilities is to reduce its overall environmental impact, while continuing to provide necessary services to the enterprise.  It is a fascinating and dynamic field.

For small to mid-sized organizations looking to gain greater efficiencies through, and from, their IT investment, the possibilities can be overwhelming.  Virsant is a comprehensive consultancy, and as such we offer the following quick primer to outline the options available.

Desktop Power Management: Desktop computers consume millions of kilowatts of energy every day, much of that while not in active use. Intelligent desktop power management software allows companies to minimize energy usage by putting computers into power saving modes while inactive. This is one of the easiest, least intrusive Green IT solutions available.  Click here to learn more about this option and how it can be validated for your organization.

E-cycling: According to the EPA, recycling 1 million desktop computers prevents the release of greenhouse gases equivalent to the annual emissions of over 17,000 passenger cars. Recycling centers that specialize in recovering the valuable materials in electronics, and properly disposing of hazardous waste exist in most cities.

Carbon-Neutral Service Providers: You may not be able to power your computers with solar cells on the roof or wind turbines in the parking lot, but you can obtain key business services from providers who use renewable energy. For example, your business can use a telecom service that boasts net-zero environmental impact.

Cloud Computing and Off-site Data Backup:  With cloud computing and off-site data backup, you no longer maintain your IT hardware and software on-site, but rather rely on the Internet and virtualized resources to satisfy your company’s computing needs. This approach reduces your environmental footprint and increases efficiency.