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Survey: Green IT Now Essential
Respondents willing to pay more upfront for energy-saving solutions
By Marianne Wilson
Nearly all (97%) senior-level information technol- ogy executives are at least discussing a green in- formation technology strategy, while 45% have already implemented green IT initiatives, according to a recent survey by Symantec Corp.
A key finding of the 2009 Green IT Report is that senior-level IT executives are significantly interested in green
IT strategies and solutions for both cost-reduction and
environmental-responsibility reasons. The data, according
to Symantec, points to a shift from implementing green
technologies primarily for cost reduction to a more balanced
awareness of also improving the organization’s environmental standing.
Respondents cited key drivers such as reducing electricity consumption (90%); reducing cooling costs (87%); and
corporate pressure to be “green” (86%). Furthermore, 83%
of respondents are now responsible or cross-charged for
the electricity consumed in the data center — providing a
strong motivator for IT to reduce energy costs.
“Over the past 12 months, IT has emerged as a new driving force in implementing green initiatives — not only for
energy savings benefits, but also as a result of widespread
desire to implement environmentally responsible practices,”
said Jose Iglesias, VP global solutions at Symantec Corp.,
Cupertino, Calif. “The pendulum has swung both ways,
and IT is now taking a balanced approach that is more integral to an organization’s green strategy, proven by the fact
that the vast majority of respondents are now responsible for
the energy costs of their data center.”
IT executives report a significant increase in green IT
budgets. Seventy-three percent expect an increase in green
IT budgets over the next 12 months, while 19% expect
increases of more than 10%. The survey also showed a willingness to pay a premium for energy-efficient IT products.
Two-thirds of respondents said they would pay at least
10% more, while 41% are willing to pay at least 20% more.
The survey found IT professionals are regularly deploying several key initiatives for green IT purposes.
Replacing old equipment is the most popular strategy,
with 95% reporting new energy-efficient equipment as part
of their strategy, followed by monitoring power consumption (94%), server virtualization (94%) and server consolidation (93%).
mwilson@chainstoreage.com
L.L. Bean opens LEED-certified data center L.L. Bean opens LEED-certified data center
As retailers look to integrate green IT practices into their operations, L.L. Bean has opened the
first data center in New England to
be awarded LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design)
Silver certification.
The center, in Freeport, Maine,
was designed by Integrated Design
Group, Boston. (To further ensure
LEED criteria were met, The Green
Engineer, Concord, Mass., consulted
on the project.)
“Data centers are industrial buildings that don’t fit easily into the
LEED concept,” said Stafford Soule,
director of L.L. Bean’s information
infrastructure. “IdGroup was able
to create a concept and design that
L.L. Bean’s New England data center
was awarded Silver LEED certification.
works around our technical and environmental criteria.”
The 18,000-sq.-ft. center, which
meets the criteria of both LEED
Silver and the American Society of
Heating, Refrigerating and Air Con-
ditioning Engineers standards, combines sustainability requirements
with a design aesthetic that reflects
the retailer’s outdoor heritage.
The data center was designed to
hold up to 144 racks of servers that
support L.L. Bean’s growing Internet business. Each 4.2KW rack in a
data center produces 1400 watts of
heat per square foot, or 500 KW
total, which is the equivalent of 340
hair dryers running nonstop. The
building management system tells
the computer rack air-conditioning
units to absorb the appropriate
amount of warm air generated by
the racks and cool it over a series of
coils, returning cool air to the
room.
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chainstoreage.com
CHAIN STORE AGE, JULY 2009
