The Business Case for Sustainable IT

When green IT is viewed as reducing an SMB's carbon footprint--and saving money in the process--the prospect of selling green solutions becomes imminently more promising.

By Megan Santosus

It's not surprising that many green IT initiatives focus on improving energy efficiency. After all, according to a well-publicized report by the Environmental Protection Agency, servers and data centers were responsible for 1.5 percent of all the electricity consumed in the United States in 2006.

For channel partners serving SMBs, however, the drive to reduce power consumption has limits, given the amount of IT equipment that most SMBs require to run their businesses. Many partners may therefore dismiss green IT as the exclusive domain of large organizations.

Yet, when the idea of green IT is expanded to include ways in which IT can help businesses become more sustainable by reducing their carbon footprint--and saving money in the process--the prospect of selling green solutions becomes imminently more promising.

Just how big is the market for green IT? In his report, Market Overview: Green IT Services, Christopher Mines, senior vice president at Forrester Research Inc., estimates that the total market for green IT will reach $4.8 billion in 2013, up from $450 million in 2008.

The trick for channel partners interested in grabbing a piece of the pie is offering solutions that appeal to SMBs' environmental mandates and business needs.

"There is a misconception that being more environmentally friendly is expensive," says Richard Hodges, founder and CEO of GreenIT, an IT consulting firm in Sonoma, Calif., that specializes in sustainable IT design, management, and education. "Sustainable IT should really have economic, social, and environmental benefits."

A 2008 survey sponsored by Microsoft points to the growing interest in sustainability among SMBs.

The survey polled 250 IT decision makers at small businesses; 69 percent of respondents said that being environmentally friendly is important; 94 percent said technology is an important tool for becoming greener. Among the most promising cost-saving sustainable practices respondents identified were allowing telecommuting, using mobile technology, and conducting Web-based meetings.

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