IS GREEN COMPUTING GOOD FOR BUSINESS ?

MIS CASE STUDY

• Md. Shibbir Hossain ( BSSE-0317)

PRESENTED BY

OUTLINE

• What is Green Computing• Roads to Green Computing• Origins • Why Green Computing• Computing resource utilization & economic impact• Problems faced by organizations• Areas of concern for organizations• Creation of vicious cycle• Impact

OUTLINE• Considerations regarding tackling the situation• Measures for Green Computing• Information system & technologies used by giants• Barriers faced by organizations• Coping up with challenges• Result of using Information System• Implementation strategy for local companies• Green guidelines for computer users• Interactive Session

What is Green Computing• Green computing is the environmentally responsible

and eco-friendly use of computers and their resources(Technopedia.com)

•  Defined as the study of designing, manufacturing/engineering, using and disposing of computing devices in a way that reduces their environmental impact by sustaining or improving performance.

Roads to Green Computing• To promote green computing concepts at all possible

levels:– Green use: minimizing electricity consumption– Green disposal : recycling, remaking– Green design: energy-efficient design– Green manufacturing: minimizing waste during

manufacturing

Origins • In 1992, the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched Energy Star–  a voluntary labeling program designed to promote and recognize energy-efficiency 

Why Green Computing• Reducing impacts on environmental and human health• Corporate social responsibility• A step needed for future• Helps to minimize the energy consumption by

educating consumers on efficient ways to keep power usage low

• Green branding- boosts corporate image

Computing resource utilization & economic impact• PCs typically stay more then twice the

amount being used each day– A company with 10000 PCs ♡♡ $165000

per year if left on all night

• Waste of $1.7 billion each year in US alone

Problems faced by organizations• Computer rooms becoming hot to handle• Data hungry tasks leading to power hungry machines

– Power and cooling costs for data centers skyrocketed to 800% since 1996

Areas of concern for organizations• Spend twice as much on energy as on hardware in next

5 years• Heat generated from room full of servers causing

equipment to fail• Spend more money to keep data center cool than actual

property

Creation of vicious cycle

Pay to power the

server

Pay again to keep

them cool

Impact

• Negative impact on environment• Increased corporate operating

cost

Considerations regarding tackling the situation

• Keep an eye on saving the environment • Saving the dollars

Measures for Green Computing• Virtualization• Algorithm Efficiency• Power management• Display• Telecommuting• Terminal servers

Information system & technologies used by giants

• Google & Microsoft• Hydroelectric power

Continued• Hewlett-Packard

• New software and services to measure energy use and carbon emission• Reduced power cost by 20 to 25% through consolidations of servers and

data centers

• Microsoft San Antonio• Sensors to measure all power consumption• Recycles water used in cooling• Uses internally developed power management software

• Fulton County, Georgia serves 988,000 residents by VMWare virtualization an Fujitso blade server

Continued

Barriers faced by organizations• Many companies use default PC power management

setting – But 70% employees turn them off

Coping up with challenges• Software – BigFix, 1E nightwatchman, Verdiem

– Locks PC power settings– Automatically power up PCs right before employees arrives

• CUNY- Verdiem surveyor software to turn off 20,000 PCs.

Result of using Information System

• 10% cut down from CUNY’s power bill– Approximately 320,000 savings

annually

Implementation strategy for local companies• Better managing computing resources• Programs to educate employees in energy conservation

– Honda Motor company

Green guidelines for computer users• Use the hibernate or sleep mode when away from a

computer for extended periods• Use flat-screen or LCD monitors, instead of

conventional cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors• Buy energy efficient notebook computers, instead of

desktop computers• Activate the power management features for

controlling energy consumption

Continued• Make proper arrangements for safe electronic waste

disposal• Turn off computers at the end of each day• Refill printer cartridges, rather than buying new ones• Instead of purchasing a new computer, try refurbishing

an existing device

Interactive Session

What business and social problems does data center power consumption cause?1)Higher operating cost

2) Negative effect towards environment

3)Increasing carbon footprint mark leading to global warming

4)Overheat causing servers to fail

5) More power consumption

What solutions are available for these problems? Which are environment friendly?1) Using centrally monitored power

management software2) Training people/employees about energy

consumption3) Better management of resources4) Moving towards cloud computing5) Telecommuting

6) Terminal servers

All of the solutions are environment friendly as they reduce carbon emission.

What are the business benefits and costs of these solutions?1) Savings of dollars

2) Green Branding

3) CSR

4) Boosts corporate image

5) Sustainable technology

The cost of training is upto the managerial level.

Cost of using power management software.(For BigFix $33 first year, $10 annually)

Should all firms move toward green computing? Why or why not? Of course yes. Reasons:

– Sustainable technology– For sake of human existence– For saving billions of dollars– Next generation computing

Questions?

Thank you all!!!