IT AND DATA
Shining a light on the public sector’s AV challenges
The public sector continues to face budget cuts and, as a result, the ability to do more with less has never been more important. With technology touching almost every aspect of the workplace, ICT purchasing decisions – especially for AV equipment – offer a prime opportunity to cut costs. Casio’s product marketing manager Gemma Platt reveals how the public sector can tackle stringent budgets and grow greener at the same time.
As
the Government persists with its energy-saving push, a growing number of organisations are seeking new ways to reduce their carbon footprint. For the public sector this means delivering on Government sustainability policies while at the same time driving cost-savings.
Cutting costs doesn’t mean the public sector can’t implement green initiatives or purchase eco-friendly products however; these end- objectives are not mutually exclusive.
One area of public sector behaviour that requires an overhaul is the use of AV technology. The Government’s recently reviewed Green ICT strategy highlights the savings that can be made on ICT equipment by encouraging behaviour changes such as turning off equipment when not in use, consuming less energy. But in the case of AV equipment, such as lamp-based projectors, this is often not feasible because of the practicalities of using certain technologies that take a long time to ‘warm up’. This means that for projectors, cost- and energy-savings must be driven by other means.
Problematic projectors
According to Casio’s ‘Use of AV Technology in the Public Sector’ survey, despite the fact that three-quarters of public sector organisations use AV equipment frequently, or
very
frequently, and a third (33%) use projectors on a daily basis, many technical issues still remain.
The most signifi cant challenges experienced by the public sector when using AV are a lack of training or necessary skills (25%), reliability (22%) and maintenance (18%). It’s clear the public sector requires equipment that is low-maintenance, dependable – and is accompanied by relevant training.
Clearly, there is a pressing need for AV and 54 | public sector executive Sep/Oct 13
presentation training to make better, more effi cient use of this type of ICT equipment. However, it’s imperative that this education is accompanied by a wider momentum to make the use of projectors – and indeed all AV equipment – more effi cient and streamlined.
After all, reducing the cost and carbon footprint of this type of ICT equipment can go a long way to driving sustainability.
Cost- and energy-savings: a light bulb moment?
Unsurprisingly, cost is a signifi cant factor for the public sector when purchasing projectors: over half (55%) admitting that the cost of the equipment is very important.
One of the most practical ways to combat pricing concerns is for organisations to pay heed to the ‘total cost of ownership’ (TCO) of projectors – and indeed all ICT equipment. This approach looks at the lifetime cost of an item, not just the initial purchase price.
In the case of projectors, almost all of them use lamp light sources with fi nite life expectancies of no more than a few thousand hours’ use. This means that if your projector is in constant use, the lamp’s life – and its value – is greatly reduced. While the actual operating hours may be the same, replacing lamps every six months eventually adds up to a costly sum.
Whilst taking TCO into consideration tackles budgeting concerns, this needs to be balanced by eco-consciousness to truly meet Government objectives –especially as 69% of survey respondents said that green credentials were either ‘signifi cant’ or ‘very signifi cant’ infl uencing factors when purchasing projectors.
There is a perceptible gap between intention and action for public sector organisations. Only
6% of public sector employees have explored the use of environmentally friendly lamp-free projector technology. So it’s clear that the public sector is overlooking both TCO and sustainable products when making purchasing decisions, despite the fact taking these into consideration could improve green credentials and reduce costs simultaneously.
This is particularly the case as new technologies – not dissimilar to those found in fl atscreen TVs – are allowing projectors to signifi cantly extend the life of the light source without reducing image quality. Using a combination of laser and LED technologies, one of these light sources can offer up to 20,000 hours of use (eliminating much of the carbon footprint associated with the purchase and manufacture of replacement lamps and maintenance costs).
As well as the sustainability factor of these new technologies, they are also safer for the environment. The production of standard lamps uses mercury, a toxic substance that is as harmful to humans as it is to the environment. With global mercury pollution a global concern, reducing the use of mercury in production lines across the world is an important agenda.
Clearly the AV technology that public sector organisations currently have in place is proving to be unreliable, maintenance-heavy and generally counter-intuitive to a cost-conscious environment. If, however, organisations were to place a greater
emphasis on total cost of ownership combined with eco-friendly equipment, the public sector could achieve a lean and green mentality.
Gemma Platt
FOR MORE INFORMATION
www.casio.co.uk/
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84