Maybe 2010 will end up being the year that green IT gains widespread acceptance (not to be confused with green IT 2.0, which I still believe is poised to take center stage this year), but judging from responses to a survey of global IT professionals, I'm not going to hold my breath.
The numbers come from Applied Research West, gathered as part of the research for Symantec's State of the Data Center report, and I came across them as the fodder for one of those annoying but increasingly common slideshows that websites like CIO Insight are doing to drive up pageviews. So, in order to spare you from having to click 15 times to get the details, I'll break it down for you in fewer than three pages. (You're welcome.)
In a nutshell, the responses from 1,700-plus IT professionals shows that companies are still primarily concerned with keeping their infrastructure functioning, reliable, and secure.
Far and away the most important priority for IT managers is security: Fully 83 percent of respondents said it was absolutely or somewhat important. That was followed by Backup and Recovery with 79 percent ranking it absolutely or somewhat important.
The first even remotely green technology practices doesn't appear until fifth place, with server virtualization. Thirty-two percent rank it as absolutely important, and 40 percent say it's somewhat important.
Other notable rankings for green IT practices include energy savings, that greenest of green IT topics, with 34 percent of respondents ranking as absolutely important; server consolidation in ninth place, with 31 percent labeling it absolutely important; and data center consolidation in 11th place, with 30 percent calling it absolutely important.
Many of these rankings are likely due to the economy, where maintaining basic functionality -- and thus IT job security -- trumps new and potentially expensive initiatives, even if they'll save money in the longer term. But there's also the ongoing lack of awareness about these issues, and some firms not even being in a place where they have data centers to consolidate.
You can click through the full annoying slideshow CIOInsight.com, and I welcome your thoughts on where green ranks for you, and what else will drive IT professionals to get greener in 2010.