The ever-increasing development and use of technology within businesses brings about the need for the appropriate infra-structure to support such equipments. The most common types of support systems for an entire business information system are the data centers or “computer rooms.” Every medium to large business that holds a network of electronic information systems needs a data room to hold mainframes and/or servers. These structures are essential to the functioning of the entire information system and they have been growing exponentially in accordance with the increase in technology usage around the world. However, being able to maintain and develop such structure requires a lot of energy and contingency planning.
As the number of data centers increase world-wide we are faced with some disquieting issues. Energy consumption is a huge business and social issue, as businesses have to pay higher electric bills and the demand for electricity in cities/states/countries increases. The cooling systems associated with data centers are also an issue, provided that its overheating leads to the system’s failure and the consequences may hit business and society hard – for example, a hospital information system should always be operational. As these issues become more evident consequences of data center support systems, the opportunity door opens for the solutions within this arena.
Some solutions are quite simple. IT managers have software options that conserve power through shutting computers off when not in use. New operation systems are being designed to provide clients with enhanced sleep features, which will soon become a standard. Hardware solutions are also available, such as thin client computers, which brings us back to the time where computers were connected to (nowadays) super-mainframes. In regards to overheating problems, some companies are choosing to invest in cooling solutions that range from intelligent air conditioning systems to customized air pipes containing waterless refrigerant.
These solutions obviously come at a cost to companies. Investing on an entire air conditioning system may be very expensive, but the system may pay itself off over the years. Other paybacks are shorter, such as when implementing energy saving software that may trim up to 50 percent of energy bills – it all depends on the business. The new sleep options that come with the newer operating systems are basically a value-added feature that will be common in the near future, as the energy consumption issue becomes more evident. Businesses will have more solutions as the embedded systems industry keeps striving to develop microchips that require less and less energy.
Green computing is a new trend that is here to stay. Green computing is about maximizing an information system’s efficiency while ensuring its reliability; what business does not need that? The average manager may be unaware of the opportunity of resources allocation that green computing brings, which is why businesses should definitely explore this arena. This is why companies such as Verizon, Google, Microsoft, HSBC and Hewlett Packard are investing heavily in green computing solutions. As a manager, you should explore green computing opportunities as a way to save your company money while ensuring that its information systems will remain reliable and efficient.
