PC power management software: IT's Low-Hanging Fruit
|
If you’re reading this, you probably own a computer. Your company might own a hundred or a hundred thousand. Aggregating all our humming little buddies, we produce a lot of emissions, and we squander two valuable resources: energy and money. Speaking of money, venture capitalists are opening their minds (and checkbooks) to the opportunities presented by energy efficiency. The New York Times reported last week, “Venture capital is starting to move away from its infatuation with alternative energy… [towards] applying information technology to improve the efficiency of energy consumption.” Where your computer is concerned, the early birds are already in flight. Companies like 1E, Verdiem and, yes, the U.S. EPA are offering you, me and the world’s biggest institutions easy access to these energy savings. Their PC power management software can conveniently control entire networks, so routine power-downs take less effort – because who’s feeling energetic at the end of the day anyway? Another software feature sidesteps pesky patching problems by enabling remote access to turned-off machines. Verizon found that installing this type of software on 63,000 of its computers saved the company 7,700 tons of carbon, or in a more plausible metric, about $1.3 million. According to an independent report commissioned by 1E, powering down PCs at night and during weekends could save $2.8 billion a year in the U.S., about £300 million in the U.K. and about €920million in Germany. Supplementing global public access to such technology, the EPA offers two open-source programs: EZ Wizard and EX GPO. PC power management software is one of 15 green business innovations highlighted in Environmental Defense Fund's (EDF) Innovations Review 2009. These represent some of the most promising practices and technologies for driving efficiency and creating new business opportunities – while protecting the planet. With the help of the global Just Means community, we will be hosting a dialogue on one innovation per week over the next 15 weeks. We thank you in advance for granting life to these ideas by exploring them here and exporting them to work. Who knows? If your boss is smart, you’ll get a promotion. |
- Posted on: May 19, 2009
- Email this to your friends.
-
Add Your Comment|
1000 |
 |
Recent Commentaa addsa | Posted: 5 June 2009
Take a look at HealthMonitor, version 6.2 provides great GREEN features !
http://www.health-monitor.com
Environmental Defense Fund | Posted: 27 May 2009
Industry leaders like Verizon, AT&T, Dell, and HSBC have saved millions with this software: http://bit.ly/xWjv9
Michael Kroon | Posted: 26 May 2009
Just posted on EDF's Innovation Exchange Blog.
http://bit.ly/15zIDa
Environmental Defense Fund | Posted: 25 May 2009
Memorial Day is a good time to decrease your energy consumption. Stay competitive through the summer by deflating your costs and helping prevent blackouts.
http://bit.ly/xWjv9
Michael Kroon | Posted: 23 May 2009
Thanks, Tim. Great work slaying all the energy vampires out there!
Tim James | Posted: 23 May 2009
Michael, 1E boast HSBC (350,000 workstations), AT&T (310,000), Dell (60,000) and many others as customers. In fact more than 3 million power management licenses deployed in some of the most complex company computing environments on the planet! So the short answer to your question is yes!
All this with no network changes at all, including wake on lan which they do with some neat technology called last man standing. There is absolutely no reason why any PC anywhere should be left on overnight in an idle state.
Michael Kroon | Posted: 22 May 2009
Welcome, new companies! Have any of you incorporated PC power management software into company computing?
http://bit.ly/8zvBZ
Environmental Defense Fund | Posted: 22 May 2009
You'd think competitive companies would snatch up this type of easy savings. But with all the low fruit hanging around us, we can%u2019t seem to pick the metaphorical bounty.
In our Innovation Exchange blog, Fortune writer Marc Gunther analyzes how a paralyzing paradox can stunt company progress of all kinds. %u201CThe people who pay the energy bills don't buy software," Marc explains. "The technical word for this in corporate America is %u2018silos.%u2019 Most companies have silos, and%u2026 the low-hanging fruit keeps on hanging,%u201D
The EPA offers two open-source programs: EZ Wizard and EX GPO. Will you topple your silo?
http://bit.ly/8zvBZ
Environmental Defense Fund | Posted: 21 May 2009
"The average data center is 40 times more energy intensive than an office building. Implement programs and technologies that reduce your use of energy from computers, servers and data centers." -- http://www.Innovation.EDF.org
Read our press release to find out how.
Or click: http://bit.ly/8zvBZ
Environmental Defense Fund | Posted: 20 May 2009
From the 2009 Innovations Review:
"The chief information officer at Washington Mutual bank, which is now part of JP Morgan Chase, told Verdiem: 'WaMu has cut its PC-related greenhouse gas emissions by 65% and is on track to save $3 million on electricity costs this year' by implementing Verdiem's SURVEYOR software."
Read more:http://bit.ly/8zvBZ
