So You Want To Go Green? – Upgrading Equipment and Operational Practices
Last month we discuss the role that Virtualization equipment replacement played in a Green IT business plan. Those two areas are where the “heavy lifting” is done and where the majority of your cost savings will be realized in a Green IT strategy.
There are still other areas that can provide positive impact and should not be overlooked. They include equipment upgrades (rather than equipment replacement), and changes to your operational practices. These are steps 7 and 8 in our 10 step Green IT Business Plan:
7. Upgrade Equipment
You may also find that it’s more effective to upgrade rather than replacement equipment. Consult with your vendors and resellers to identify those technologies that can be upgraded. Extending the useful life of existing equipment is also part of an ROI calculation and will reduce the amount of equipment that will be decommissioned and recycled.
8. Operational Practices
Additional operational efficiencies are possible when you can combine the support and administration of formerly disparate systems into a single team. Unified Communications and Telephony are a good example. Up until recently, telephony/PBX systems were run by a communications team, and servers and network services were handled by the IT team. Modern unified communications solutions now permit both functions to be run by a single team. Operational efficiencies will reduce team sizes and save on manpower costs.
Next month I’ll touch on the final two elements of the business plan.
-Tim Krueger, PEI
