IBM Ranked as a Sustainable Technology Leader in Global IT Sector

IBM has been named as a sustainable technology leader in a recent report titled "Green Quadrant: Sustainable Technology Services 2011". The report, released by the London-based sustainable business analyst firm Verdantrix, evaluates 15 global IT services companies on 49 assessment parameters. The study analysed the IT service delivery capabilities of companies to build energy efficiency, utilize renewable energy resources, develop intelligent transport such as electric vehicles, and software development for energy management and climate change risk modeling.

The study found that governments and large global corporations are looking for information technologies to support new sustainable development initiatives such as wind power generation, electric vehicle infrastructure, climate change risk assessment systems, and global carbon emission management systems. IT companies that are not geared to support this demand are losing out on hefty contracts. Technology spend in these areas is much larger in size and scope compared to the old green IT projects such as data center and PC power energy efficiency.

The Green Quadrant report finds IBM, Deloitte and Logica as the leading providers of sustainable technology services among 15 largest global IT firms with combined annual revenues of $324 billion. It says that the buyers value the visionary leadership these three companies provide and their deep expertise in the area of sustainable technologies. They have very broad-based portfolios, offer a wide range of services and have a track record of managing very large projects successfully.

IBM leads in global IT service capabilities in the area of water management systems and data center efficiency systems. Deloitte is a market leader in software for energy and carbon management, sustainability reporting and lifecycle assessment services. Logica has an outstanding record in the areas of electric vehicle infrastructure, renewable energy management systems and energy efficiency technologies. The other companies with an exceptional performance that find a mention in the report include Orange Business Services that offers efficient telemetry and fleet management services, HP which offers an efficient flight planning service.

One of the key findings of the report is that there is a visible shift towards developing new sustainable technologies, rather than optimizing IT and IT enabled services. Industry experts believe that green computing initiatives should play into broad carbon emission reduction strategies at large corporations. Businesses are increasingly looking for new technological systems to manage sustainable business practices. However, it is crucial that the companies must see business benefit and carbon savings must add to financial advantage. Otherwise businesses are not likely to put their money into sustainability initiatives if it is a money losing proposition. 

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