With all the emphasis on IT going green, mid-size business has reason to feel left out. Some of the most promising solutions are geared for the mega-tech sector. Adaptive link rate equipment promises a huge cost saving with its smaller energy footprint, but at $100,000+ a pop, you know you won't be seeing it in your offices in the near future. If you're not Google or Microsoft, you simply can't afford them. The time-worn adage; "It must perform, it must keep systems available, then it can be green" is true in any business, large or small.
There are things any medium size business can do to improve their environmental impact and legitimately award themselves some IT "greenie-points". Success hinges on being able to completely and accurately assess how your business performs on a variety of factors-something the competent manager should be doing on an on-going basis anyway. Some basic areas to look at:
Facilities
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Facilities- envy will do you no good in this shaky economy: you're not about to build a new campus with wind and solar power and recycled water systems. You can, however, be very aware of space costs and energy usage over and above the rental agreement. Ask for full records of space-conditioning costs before serious lease discussion ever begins. Some lease agreements allow you to demand an upgraded HVAC system as a condition of the lease. Never be afraid to take an HVAC expert with you to check out the property - he can save you thousands down the road in unexpended heating/cooling dollars by alerting you to potential power-wasters.
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Plumbing should be updated, with low-flow toilets and auto-controlled faucets.
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Vending machines should be at a minimum: a small dorm-style refrigerator placed strategically can hold lunches and cold drinks-a healthier alternative for employees.
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It never hurts to arrange for a catering truck loaded with fresh salads and home-made soups to arrive in your parking lot at lunchtime, thus avoiding the massive out-rush of cars heading for the fast-food joint.
Even if you don't pay for these costs directly, keep copious notes as this will all go into your green-footprint statement.
Actively pursue the "3 P's of Green IT: Power, Products and Ports"
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Look into purchasing power from a green-power utility company. You pay a small premium to assure all power used is from green sources.
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Configure all desktops to a power-saver mode so that the office wanderer isn't wasting kilowatts while he visits the water cooler and the receptionist.
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Make it a policy to shut down all systems at night. Every workstation should be connected to the power distribution system via a switchable surge protector and it is turned OFF at the end of the work day. This has a side-benefit of helping to secure data from midnight hackers. It's easy to schedule total system shut-down immediately after the mandatory end-of-day data backup.
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Consider telecommuting for some employees: if your business model permits it, some employees are often willing to work for a bit less an hour as they avoid transportation costs. Employees such as tech writers, software dabblers (c'mon-you know that's what some of them are doing), transcriptionists - all can work from home. They can come into the office weekly for staff meetings, to synchronize schedules, upgrade software to their laptops and become familiar with new systems and their place in them. As a security factor, it's better if the business itself owns the laptop workstation and employees understand and sign agreements including strict rules for its use. Don't duplicate capacity with additional office-based workstations for these people - one or two machines should do for their few in-office needs.
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Many forms of data don't have to leave the desktop for long periods of time. If interaction with the network isn't necessary, don't network it except when needed. Crucial data can be exchanged in short bursts via VPN or thin client -no need to keep a connection open at all times.
Products:
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Buy only Energy Star-compliant gear, and don't overbuy.
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Never be afraid to ask the manufacturers for data sheets on every item they sell. Do they sell greener cables, work stations using less hazardous materials? Some do-and if enough prospective customers ask, they all soon will! The newer energy-saving chips are now available and you can work green there, too.
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Only purchase the equipment you need: The receptionist, the executive secretary, the service counter guy are never going to need a screaming-fast mega-humbuggular system. Don't spend the money on it - or waste the energy.
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Do you really need a 32-port Ethernet hub? Would you like to save a few hundred bucks while improving your green footprint?
Laser printers suck up power like a sponge. You may not be able to get away from printing entirely but you can make it cheaper and greener.
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Print in duplex wherever possible. Print in draft mode for daily in-house docs to save ink.
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Don't print memos, email them. Rather that archive documents on paper, print to PDF and save to a secure storage drive.
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Enforce good printing practices such as always double-checking the settings to avoid printing more than you intend to print.
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Save scrap pages and get someone's kids to come in and cut them into note-size pieces for the quick note someone needs to leave on another's desk.
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Recycle print cartridges every time! It's easy for someone to leave work twenty minutes early once a week and drop the empty cartridge bin by the local ink recycling shop.
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Recycle desktops and workstations to non-profit groups. This not only avoids costly and hazardous breakdown of equipment into recyclable components, but gets the last ounce of life out of outdated equipment by donating it off to a worthy cause. For security's sake, have someone rip all the old hard drives out and replace them with cheap $50 hard drives - you can then be assured your data is never compromised. Lend them your network administrator to help set up their systems. And, you can write off the donations on your business taxes.
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In some areas, green power providers can sell green bandwidth using the same principles as their green power.
Finally, develop a green technology statement documenting all of your efforts at going green. Make it a practice to include this statement in every business proposal you write and use it to develop press releases. Get the word out on the street that you're an up-and-coming, ecologically-aware company. It will carry its own reward in an increase in business with environmentally-conscious customers.