A Springboard To Services

Increasingly I am seeing vendors focus on their own virtue in terms of Green IT. IBM, HP, and others have all announced internal IT consolidations to drive green outcomes. This is of course an essential outcome and reflects what has been an extraordinary change over the course of 2007 towards seemingly universal green awareness, not just in IT but across industry. Just look at the greatest born again greenie of them all, Rupert Murdoch.  However if it were possible IBM and others would have undertaken the same consolidation earlier. The guise then however would have been cost savings and efficient use of IT resources. Environmental benefits and cost savings can go together, if something is more energy efficient, then naturally it takes less power, which has double benefits. Don’t be afraid to be up front with both Vendors will need to be sure that they do not raise the cynical eye over these things. Just playing the green card as the flavour of the month can run the risk of over hyping the benefits and creating mismanaged expectations.

We are seeing a lot of activity in Green IT, but it is still difficult to properly define the marketplace, there will be regulation, the key thing is to determine what the regulation is.

http://www.crn.com.au/News/72685,australian-green-it-regulations-could-arrive-this-year.aspx

From my discussions with Vendors and end users, I am finding that there is a disconnect with the concept of Green IT. Virtualisation,DC efficiency,Power Management is a Toyota Camry, Green IT is a Lexus, ie the same car with a different badge and price tag for being green, with the effectively same outcomes.

I am highlighting this as we speak in terms of vendors attitudes, too much overkill and the market gets and walks away, ASP should be a case in point here.