Green out

  PM Network  

Forget the environment.

Or at least just put those carboncutting concerns to the side for a moment. That’s not to say green IT projects won’t help the planet, but they’re really about saving money— sometimes a lot of money.

“Being green is just one concern of many in green IT projects,” says Priscila Duarte, PMP, project manager at Nokia Siemens Network, São Paulo, Brazil. “Companies don’t virtualize their servers just because it’s green. That may be a point of benefit, but they are primarily looking to reduce costs and increase efficiency.”

Sustainable technology covers a wide range. It can be as basic as eliminating duplicate and out-of-date applications. Or, it can be as ambitious as investing in virtualization technology that spreads the capacity load of applications among fewer servers linked by software. Pair either of those with cutting-edge water- and air-treatment systems and a company can immediately see a serious drop in its carbon load and its energy bills.

Like many projects, though, you’ve got to spend money to save money. Plugging into sustainability requires an up-front investment. And sometimes it’s a significant one. Of course, securing those funds as budgets are being slashed can take some doing.

“Given the economy, the US$10 million- sized projects to …

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