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IT Goes Green

Green IT – What is it?

To equipment vendors, Green IT means refreshing technology more to lower the total cost of ownership. To the data center manager it is a path to controlling rapidly increasing energy costs, while also trying to control increasing demands for space and cooling. To the eco-scientist it is a means of achieving socially desirable goals. To the legislator it is a growing demand to regulate — driven by the competing pressures from businesses and environmental advocates.

Digital Realty Trust recently published a survey stating that 55 percent of large American corporations have established detailed green data center strategies; but 73 percent are not entirely sure what constitutes a green data center.

As a worldwide IT service provider, CSC delivers cost-effective solutions unique to every region’s economic, social and regulatory demands. In the United Kingdom, CSC has committed to ISO 14000 certification of its data centers. In Australia, CSC is engaged in green initiatives to support national goals. In the U.S., CSC data center upgrades are consistent with state-led initiatives (e.g., California). CSC has been ranked the second most "green" outsourcer in the world by the Brown-Wilson Group in its "Black Book of Outsourcing." In addition, CSC was named a top green IT vendor by IDG’s Computerworld.

			Related Information: Learn about strategies for Green IT. Read how green solutions can be both practical and profitable. Read about Green IT and the U.S. Government. Join our blog on Green IT, hosted by the Leading Edge Forum’s Executive Programme. Contact us and let our experience help you produce results.

CSC is looking at how public-sector IT managers, procurement officials and other professionals can transform their IT and data center operations into more environmentally conscious yet efficient solutions. With the exception of specific state governments, regulations specifying environmentally conscious computing requirements do not exist in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency has only recently completed its landmark study on Energy-Star computing, and the results will ultimately evolve into requirements or incentives in the federal marketplace.

Increasing energy costs, growth in computational demands, and the pain associated with facility expansion (space, power, cooling) will drive business cases supporting technology modernization — with Green IT becoming a very important factor in total cost of ownership (TCO). Data centers now use 1.2 percent of the gross domestic power output. This financial emphasis drives a broad range of best practices in the design, implementation and operation of both data centers and IT infrastructures. Cooling equipment and stable power sources are significant operating costs in the data center life cycle.

Green IT will require a holistic perspective, shaped by both the realities of the business opportunities and the regulatory environment. These in turn will necessitate a comprehensive look at opportunities to reduce TCO. A wide range of innovative solutions are likely to be implemented, involving:

Going green is a philosophical commitment that is gaining momentum. It is important for each organization to commit to a forward-directed and fully integrated business process that includes achieving social goals. It may be difficult to define, and the IT community may struggle with the best ways to implement it, but Green IT is a key area of concern for federal customers. It’s also good business.