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I've just listened to Gartner's presentation on the top technology trends for the next several years and am happy to report that the trend towards better managing resources including energy and other environmental aspects is high on the priority list.  In addition, the trends toward better integration between facilities and IT departments is a critical success factor in many cases.  Here is a quick summary of the trends Gartner has identified with a particular focus on the green perspective.

In his new book The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook: How to Transform Your Company, Bob Willard presents models and practices from the best available personal, organizational and cultural management theories. Mr. Willard masterfully distils and connects frameworks from thought leaders such as Peter M. Senge, Stephen R. Covey, Peter R. Scholtes, Bob Doppelt, Andrew Savitz, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, J.M. Fisher, Doug McKenzie-Mohr, John Kotter and others.

The results of green IT survey conducted in March by Symantec Corp have just been released. The survey polled top-level employees at 1,052 large companies around the globe, and found some extremely dramatic and encouraging results.

Highlights include:
•    97% of respondents have green IT on their radar.
•    45% of respondents have already implemented some green IT initiatives.
•    73% of respondents expect an increase in green IT budgets in the next year.

How does an organization design a holistic green IT program? Terrabytes recommends a project framework with four categories: policies and performance reporting (e.g. responsible purchasing policy), energy consumption (ways to reduce energy usage), strategic asset management (looks at what and how much hardware you have and how you upgrade) and green business support (how IT can support greener business operations).

How do you define your green IT project areas? What areas have you looked at?

At Terrabytes we believe that the solution to our current world situations will be made up of a multitude of creative, innovative and thoughtful acts on behalf of individuals and organizations.  When there is no 'silver bullet', getting started can be challenging.  To help organizations get started even with small steps, we recommend the following five easy ways to get started with greening your IT.  If you have questions, please feel free to contact us by filling out the Contact Us form on the left-hand side of this article.

An article published earlier this year titled "Green carrots needed for IT chiefs" by Tim Ferguson on silicon.com has raised the issue of IT department's not being fiscally responsible for the energy consumption of their equipment.  We often come across the complaint from facility managers that IT managers are not motivated to implement energy saving programs because it does not affect their budget positively (generally there is a cost and the benefits are gained by another department).  The article points to a survey completed by Quocirca that found "less than one

In a recent article titled "Is Green IT Your Emporor With No Clothes", Forrester associate Doug Washburn posits that "technology is not green and never will be."  Washburn adds that although the technology itself is not green, enterprises have much to gain from greening initiatives including financial and environmental performance improvments.