With today’s electronic systems consuming massive amounts of energy, and improper disposal of old equipment threatening to release dangerous toxicity into the atmosphere, any company whose IT department isn’t actively working to shrink its carbon footprint isn’t just hurting the environment...it is also probably wasting money. Green Tech provides readers with practical, easily implemented strategies for sustainable computing, showing them how to:

• build a business case to influence their organization's green strategy

• reduce costs and improve equipment utilization while maintaining current customer service levels

• identify old equipment at all levels, as well as suitable green replacements

• virtualize servers

• find alternative methods for data center cooling

• conduct an energy audit and establish an energy baseline

• determine the best options for recycling or donating old equipment

Filled with realistic, cost-efficient ideas, this book shows that going green isn’t just the right thing to do, but also a good business strategy.

Green Tech divides the mission of sustainable IT into three major goals. The first is to rethink your purchasing goals. Often, the lowest-priced equipment is so energy-inefficient that its initial advantage is negated during its first year of operation; while only slightly higher outlays will result in substantial savings very soon and for years to come.

Second, your company needs to examine the specific equipment it has and the specific tasks for which it is used. Are your servers bigger than you need; your backups overly redundant; your work­stations, printers, scanners, copiers, and other items left on overnight and over the weekend?

Third, think long term. Disposal may seem like an issue for down the road, but getting rid of old equipment can be a costly endeavor. You don’t want to have to pay hefty waste-processing fees, fines, or indefinite warehousing costs. And if you’ve bought quality equipment in the first place, you’ll find many opportunities to sell or donate it when you’ve outgrown it.

A book not just for IT buyers but for anyone in business, from the C-suite to purchasing to public relations, Green Tech offers practical ways to:

•Encourage sensible power usage by bridging the gap between the people using the electricity and the people paying the bills

•Build the business case for adopting and executing green technology strategies across the entire organization

•Reduce energy and equipment costs without sacrificing customer service levels

•Identify old equipment and cost-effective, energy-smart replacements

•“Right-size” your equipment for the tasks at hand, including reducing or virtualizing servers

•Cool your data centers for a fraction of the cost you’re paying now

•Conduct an energy audit and establish your company’s energy baseline

•Recycle or donate old equipment responsibly

One at a time or in combination (the choice is yours), each and every idea in the book will have a very noticeable impact on your bottom line—and on the world around you.

Lawrence Webber has more than 30 years of IT experience in hardware and software and is a PMI®-certified Project Management Professional. He is a Senior Project Manager at Insight Corporation.

Michael Wallace is the Vice President of Application Engineering at Result Data. He has more than 25 years of experience in the information services field. Both authors live in Columbus, Ohio.

What if you could save money, run your company more efficiently, and keep customer satisfaction at peak levels—all while reducing waste and making your organization the envy of its industry?

If it sounds too good to be true, consider this: Seemingly “inexpensive” equipment uses more energy, generates more dangerous heat, takes up more space in your office, and drains your company’s operating budget faster than new “green technologies”—IT solutions that protect the environment, solidify your company’s image as a progressive and proactive corporate citizen, and (here’s the best part) cost much less to operate.

Green Tech presents an array of practical approaches that are almost instant in their impact on the bottom line and on the environment. From better-informed equipment purchases to maintenance, from optimal usage conditions to innovative recycling and disposal options, this book amounts to an open-and-shut business case for making green the center of your evolving IT strategy.

Advance Praise for Green Tech:

“Green Tech is about the bottom line—for both your organization and the environment. As the cost and environmental impact of computing resources continue to increase, managers and executives must understand their options. In this book, Webber and Wallace have developed a comprehensive and objective guide for managers to learn how a combination of virtualization, power management, and changes in best practices are resulting in giant leaps being made in the concept of ‘going green.’” — Clay Hales, President of InfoSystems, Inc.

“This book not only covers the obvious issues of hardware energy usage, it also looks at the processes around delivering IT services from a software and people perspective that can make a big difference in the overall carbon footprint of an IT organization. As energy costs continue to increase, the practical advice and real-life examples that Webber and Wallace present in the book will become even more important in how we provide IT services to our users and customers.” — David Platt, Head of IT, Americas Mettler Toledo

Lawrence Webber (Columbus, OH) has over 30 years of IT experience in hardware and software, and is a PMI Certified Project Management Professional. He is a Senior Project Manager at Insight Corporation.

Michael Wallace (Columbus, OH) is the Vice President of Application Engineer at Result Data. He has more than 25 years of experience in the information services field.