Friday, 24 August 2007

Green IT Gaining Interest in Asia but Awareness Low, Action Rare

While efforts focused on decreasing the environmental impact of information technology is still in the nascent stage, environmental concerns are climbing up the corporate IT agenda. However, there is still a limited awareness of Green IT products among end users, partly due to the lack of an adequate push by IT vendors in the region.

According to a research done by Springboard Research, an innovator in the IT market research industry currently, large enterprises in Asia comprise the largest consumers of electricity used for computing at 37%, followed by consumer IT users at 34%, and the small/medium enterprise (SME) and small office/home office (SOHO) segment at 29%.

“Computing devices have a significantly large and unrecognized carbon footprint. For example, an average-sized server has the same carbon footprint as a mid-sized sports utility vehicle getting 15 miles-to-the-gallon,” said Bob Hayward, Research Vice President for Springboard Research.

“As companies become more accurate in determining what percentage of energy costs are allocated to the IT department, you will see cost savings be the key driver of Green IT investments. Springboard estimates that over US billion per year is spent on powering computers in the Asia Pacific region, with over 66% of this spending wasted on systems that are in idle mode,” Hayward added.

IT vendors are currently increasing their efforts in the Green IT space - both from an altruistic and branding perspective - as well as to improve their bottom line.

Springboard estimates that the largest amount of spending by IT vendors is focused on increasing the energy efficiency of their products (40% of spending). This is closely followed by efforts on recycling and disposal (30% of spending) and manufacturing in a more environmentally friendly way (25% of spending).

“While IT vendors are increasing their spending on green initiatives, IT end users still have little awareness of what Green IT is and how it can help their businesses,” said Anu Singh, Senior Market Analyst at Springboard Research.

“Many end users in Asia see Green IT as just another additional cost and they still need to be educated on how it can benefit their organization. This is where we feel IT vendors have a big opportunity: those that can educate end users on how to be green without increasing their costs or even saving money will differentiate themselves and gain not only increased market share, but also more brand equity in the eyes of their customers.”

Springboard’s top 5 predictions for the Green IT market are, Cost Savings will Drive Green IT Investments, Regulations Become More Uniform and Stringent, Strong Growth in Virtualization and Consolidation, Equipment Take-Back and Disposal Programs Become Imperative and Asian Governments will Lead Green IT Adoption in Asia.