36 . Glasgow Business September/October 2012
Chris McCartney
“Even then, if a computer is not being used for an extended period, it’s important to turn it off properly and, in an ideal world, unplug it. Even switched off, PCs still draw a small amount of power”
GREEN IT 3
As well as becoming drastically more energy efficient in recent times,
the IT industry has responded to tightening regulations and consumer demand by cutting back on the use of harmful chemicals in its manufacturing processes. These improvements are particularly important for public bodies and businesses, many of which now have formal environmental policies covering the impact of their kit. But simply buying the right kit does not ensure it will be used correctly, and organisations should keep a close eye on IT energy performance in both policy and practice, according to Chris McCartney, Senior Business Environmental Advisor at the Green Business Partnership. “The first thing we’ll do when
we visit a business for the first time is make a baseline assessment of their overall environmental impact,” said McCartney. “And then, when we recommend some actions to reduce
VIEWPOINT IS THE TABLET THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS IT?
We all want our employees to work in a place they enjoy, and more often than not, this means letting the increasingly tech-savvy workforce bring their own personal devices into the office to use. Virgin recently surveyed 5,000 businesses and 16 per cent said they’d already introduced schemes that allow staff to work in ways that suited them. With developments
in tablet technology gathering pace, the lines are being blurred between consumer and business applications. This year, we’ve already seen Microsoft announce the
launch of its Surface tablet, which will encourage the next generation of ‘consumerised’ IT. So why aren’t more companies jumping on the bandwagon? Well, a big concern for businesses lies in the security around personal devices. Specifically, they’re worried about connecting consumer devices to the company’s network and services, because they’re not necessarily as well protected against viruses and malware as the business- standard IT equipment. But when
speedy, fibre- optic networks
are being provided, security needn’t be an issue: working virtually, nothing is stored locally and so corporate data will be kept safe. Businesses have to make sure that when they’re upgrading their networks to accommodate personal devices, they’re working really closely with their service providers. This will mean businesses can get connections in place that are as secure and reliable as they need. Virgin is working with
customers to help them make sure personal devices can be used in the workplace without the chief executive having to worry about the consequences.
Tony Grace, COO, Virgin Media Business
consumption, we can get an objective measurement of how effective they’ve been over time. “Even in environmentally
conscious organisations, we’ll invariably pick up on several blind spots, where they can quickly and easily make improvements.” McCartney said common low- hanging fruit includes ensuring PCs have their energy-saving modes set up correctly. “It’s surprising how many people
believe screen savers are energy saving. In a true energy saving mode, the monitor will turn itself off after a period of inactivity, hard disks will spin down and eventually the PC will go into a kind of hibernation. “Even then, if a computer is not being used for an extended period, it’s important to turn it off properly and, in an ideal world, unplug it. Even switched off, PCs still draw a small amount of power, which all adds up.” Though they’re often forgotten
about, servers can also be a major source of energy waste.
McCartney continued: “One of the
things that happens quite often is that people will over-cool the ambient temperature in their server room. We’ve been to businesses where
people are cooling to 15 degrees or less. In our experience, 25 degrees is perfectly adequate. Although it’s a small room, a difference of even five degrees can make a massive difference in terms of energy consumption.” Even when equipment has
outlived its use to the business, it may find a new life with one of the many charities specialising in reconditioning old technology for those who may not otherwise have access. Organisations such as LAMH in
Motherwell will collect and recondition unwanted IT kit, for resale in Scotland, while charities such as IT for Africa outfit schools and other community resources in the developing world. If donating equipment, it is important to ensure the recipient organisation has the correct licenses to accept and process it.
BIG DATA 4
Here’s a statistic to knock the stuffing from even the most stalwart IT manager:
90 per cent of all recorded data currently in existence was created in the past two years. This deluge of data is down
almost exclusively to an explosion
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