Although the rise of environmental awareness in IT departments has given a new tack for thin-client companies to promote their products, it's not clear if the enthusiasm for all things green will or even should lead IT to adoption of all technologies that lower power consumption.
The relatively simple but eye-opening act of testing the energy used in various computer configurations at your company is one way to overcome an IT manager's biggest frustration: not knowing how much energy is used by each new piece of hardware.
One of the most compelling technologies for consolidating servers has a surprising aspect: there are many available options, some of which are free. That's good news; now, but how do you put this technology to work?
When it comes to dealing with the growing e-waste problem, the old environmental mantra of "reduce, reuse and recycle" can be a simple solution to upgrading your hardware.
The software industry currently operates under the same "take-make-waste" model as extractive industries, but by embracing a few innovations, it can instead help drive a green economy as well as drive profits.
Big Blue's announcement last week of a billion-dollar-per-year effort to green its operations is a hugely impressive project, but it highlights the bigger threat posed to IT from the sheer explosion of data.