Sustainable IT | Ted Samson | September 2007

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September 2007

September 30, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Reading assignment: Kiplinger's "Green Issue"

Amid the fitness, fashion, and celebrity mags on display on a magazine rack in the Newark airport, a flash of green caught my eye. No, Britney Spears hasn't dyed her hair emerald; rather, it was the October issue of Kiplinger's personal finance magazine, which was emblazoned as "The Green Issue."

The issue is packed with some good articles, aimed both at investors as well as the average consumer. It touches not only on some investing opportunities in green tech stocks; it also has some great tips for reducing waste and saving money at home; an article about the "inconvient truths" of carbon offsets; information about how to go solar at home; as well as their picks of 19 green cars.

Now why I am highlighting a magazine that has little do to with enterprise technology? Well, I found the content valuable, but I also found it exciting to see just how big this green movement is becoming such that a personal finance magazine can devote almost an entire issue to it.

I realize some people may still be skeptical about this wave of green, considering it little more than a flash in the pan that will soon go the way of the dodo, rainbow suspenders, and ALF. But I'm convinced that this green movement will rival the Internet in terms of just how significantly it will impact and change the business landscape as well our day-to-day lives.

And honestly: Why fight it? I keep beating this drum, but the fact remains that green is being more efficient, trimming waste, and saving money. There are indeed upfront costs and significant planning required, whether your putting solar panels on your roof or greening your datacenter. But the long-term savings are very real.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 30, 2007 11:05 PM

September 27, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Wal-Mart throws its weight behind a greener supply chain

Wal-Mart goes green
Short-sighted as it may be, some companies may be undaunted by the fact that more U.S. politicians are taking carbon emissions seriously. After all, there's no significant federal legislation looming that would ding an organization that produces an excessive amount of that infamous substance so often linked with global warming.

But even if Uncle Sam isn't monitoring the size of companies' carbon footprint, another powerful entity is: Wal-Mart. Earlier this week, the retail empire announced that it will team with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) to start tracking and reducing the energy consumed and carbon emissions produced by its suppliers. The project will begin with seven product categories: DVDs, toothpaste, soap, milk, beer, soda, and vacuum cleaners.

This announcement is a huge one, and it should drive home the fact that it's not just tree-hugger pols and nonprofits that care about energy waste, associated carbon emissions, and other greenhouse gases. When a mainstream global company with the size and influence of Wal-Mart asserts it's keeping a tab on not only its own carbon footprint but those of its suppliers, having a large footprint suddenly has very clear, very real economic ramifications.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment -- one of Wal-Mart's suppliers -- has already initiated a supply-chain analysis of the carbon impact of the production, manufacture, and distribution of its DVDs. More than 20 of Fox's key suppliers embraced the study by supplying detailed information on their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Notably, Wal-Mart certainly isn't the only influential corporation out there keeping a tab on the greenness of its supply chain. HP, IBM, Dell, and Xerox, for example, assess their suppliers' environmental responsibility practices and, in some cases, work actively with those companies to help them become more efficient, as well as better environmental stewards.

Moreover, investor groups such as CDP, a coalition of more than 315 investors representing $41 trillion in assets, have been encouraging companies to disclose their carbon footprints for the past five years. This year, 77 percent of the FT500 -- representing 500 companies globally -- responded to CDP's survey. U.S. companies lagged, though, with only 56 percent of the SP500 responding.

While the aforementioned organizations are pushing for change, Wal-Mart is certainly the largest, most influential, and farthest-reaching organization out there throwing around its formidable economic weight in asking its customers for specifics on energy use and GHG emissions.

At first blush, companies may not revel in the thought of its big customers seemingly playing eco-police and essentially telling them how to run their operations. But there's perhaps an overlooked silver lining to investing the resources in measuring, reporting, and reducing your organization's carbon emissions. Yes, it's the socially responsible thing to do. Yes, it gives consumers a warm, fuzzy feeling when they buy your products. But from an economic standpoint, measuring your company's carbon footprint can be an important tool for gauging energy consumption. When you start looking for ways to cut your CO2 emissions, you're effectively seeking ways to reduce the amount of electricity and fuel your company wastes.

"This is an opportunity to spur innovation and efficiency throughout our supply chain that will not only help protect the environment but save people money at the same time," said John Fleming, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer for the Wal-Mart Stores Division, in a written statement.

Not only is that good for your company's bottom line, but it's ultimately good for the bottom line of companies further up the supply chain. After all, lower operating costs puts you in a position to sell your products at a more competitive prices, which means the Wal-Marts, HPs, IBMs, and further up the chain save money, too. And who knows? Perhaps those savings will reach consumers' pocketbooks.

I anticipate that Wal-Mart's announcement will prove a particularly pivotal moment in the rapidly evolving green movement, with some serious potential for a cumulative ripple effect. First, it will induce companies down the supply chain -- those flying under the public's eco-radar -- to become better environmental stewards. Second, economically influential companies in industries other than retail may follow Wal-Mart's lead, which will result in their suppliers taking steps to be greener. Time, of course, will ultimately tell.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 27, 2007 03:00 AM

September 25, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Green tech doesn't reduce computational demands

During a briefing about AMD's energy efficient quad-core processor, a curious question arose. A journalist asked if AMD was worried that it would be ultimately hurting its own sales with the release of Barcelona. The reasoning: If AMD is selling a processor capable of doing twice as much work as its previous CPU, wouldn't that mean that organizations will end buying fewer products from the company?

Similarly, an attendee today at the InfoWorld Virtualization Forum asked panelst Jim Smith of Digital Realty whether he was worried that his company would have fewer datacenters to build because, thanks to virtualizations, companies will find they need fewer servers.

The responses to these questions were essentially the same: most certainly not. The underlying mistaken assumption in the queries, intentional or not, is that companies have maxed or nearly maxed out their processing and storage demands and have no need to grow any further.

Imagine if, through virtualization, storage consolidation, and/or more efficient hardware, you've managed to halve the machine count in your datacenter. Are you going to dust off your hands, smile a satisifed smile, and declare, "Well, my work here's done. There's no way I'll ever be able to use all this space"?

More likely, you'll figure out plenty of ways to cram more machines into that space (power permitting) -- that is, assuming your company has plans for growth (and hopefully, it does).

So green technology investments will deliver more bang for your buck, as well as some breathing room as your company grows. But chipmakers, datacenter architects, hardwares vendors and the like needn't worry about putting themselves out of business selling more energy-efficient wares.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 25, 2007 08:25 AM

September 24, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Hardware vendors can learn from eco-friendly OLPC laptop

I've been following the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project for a while now, not only because I think it's a good cause, but also because I'm fascinated by the technology of the system, called the XO. I was reminded of the project today when reading that the systems will be made available, for a limited time, to U.S. and Canadian students.

As you may know, the goal of the OLPC project is to equip children in the developing world with rugged, low-cost laptop computers. Not only are they relatively inexpensive -- around $190 a pop -- but they're quite green, partially out of necessity.

For starters, they're highly power efficient, which they have to be, given that they're targeted at users who don't necessarily have ready access to an ample supply of energy. The system uses fewer than two watts, less than one tenth of what a regular laptop consumes. Adding to its power savings: The system selectively suspends operation of its CPU.

The systems also have two display modes, both of which are low-energy. There's a transmissive, full-color mode that consumes about one watt -- one seventh that of the average LCD monitor's power consumption. The reflective, high-resolution mode, which makes it readable in direct sunlight, consumes just 0.2 watts.

Also nifty: These systems can be charged manually with a crank, a pedal, or a pull-cord. That, again, is a must for users who don't have access to an electrical outlet.

In addition to not requiring a lot of juice, the systems are RoHS-compliant; they contain no hazardous materials. The XO's NiMH batteries contain no toxic heavy metals, either, and they boast enhanced battery management for an extended recharge-cycle lifetime.

Finally, the systems are highly durable, designed to last five years. That's a pretty good lifespan, another trait of a green piece of hardware.

So all in all, I'm impressed and encouraged by this system. It demonstrates that organizations can -- if they put their mind to it -- build inexpensive, eco-friendly systems if they're willing to devote time and resources to them. Whereas I'm pleased the OLPC will make the systems available to students in America and Canada, I'm ambivalent for a couple of reasons. First, it's for a limited time. Second, they'll cost $400; part of the money will go to buying a second system for a needy student abroad.

The thing is, there are undoubtedly needy students in the U.S. and Canada who would benefit from having a computer like the XO but can't readily afford a $400 price tag. Hopefully OLPC will give kids worldwide a chance to buy one of these systems -- or perhaps other vendors out there will be inspired to do something similar.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 24, 2007 08:06 AM

September 24, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Sun launches community for measuring, comparing GHG emissions

In an effort to help organizations get a handle on their swelling carbon footprints, Sun today is launching OpenEco.org, an online community providing free tools and resources for calculating, tracking, and comparing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

With OpenEco.org, organizations can calculate on a granular level the GHGs related to their facilities and vehicle fleets, based on standard, approved carbon accounting standards. They also can track trends and their progress, and compile reports suitable under programs such as the EPA Climate Leaders, according to Sun.

"This project came about because we were trying to calculate our own carbon footprint … and we found that the tools out there were proprietary or expensive, or else companies were building spreadsheets [to calculate their footprint] on an ad hoc basis," said Dave Douglas, vice president of eco-responsibility at Sun.

The company decided to draw on its open source roots and make publicly available a set of measuring tools it developed in house. Participating companies' footprints will be viewable to other members- anonymously, as an option. That way, organizations will be able to see how their carbon footprints compare to those of other similarly size organizations. "People will start to get comparisons and know how they're doing against one another. They'll know what working and what's not," said Douglas.

Being a community-oriented site, it also features forum tools for organizations to interact.

As the green tech movement has picked up steam, companies are feeling both internal and external pressure to be more mindful of their impact on the environment. "One reason companies are measuring their GHG emissions is that people are asking them too. Increasingly, large investors are asking them to report them, no questions asked," said Douglas. "Some of our largest customers are asking us about our carbon emissions."

Additionally, Douglas said that if the U.S. adopts a carbon cap and trade system, similar to that in Europe, tracking and reducing carbon footprints "is going to become an important part of doing business, period."

Moreover, Douglas noted that measuring an organization's carbon footprint at a granular level -- such as on a building by building basis -- can help that organization prioritize its energy-efficiency strategy. "We use it internally to highlight what to go after. The first step in an energy-efficiency project is to figure out where the energy is going in the first place."

For more information, or to join, go to OpenEco.org.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 24, 2007 12:01 AM

September 20, 2007 | Comments: (0)

BT joins growing list of green consultants

More and more companies are grasping the importance of a green strategy to address swelling energy bills and power shortages, as well as to shrink their carbon footprints. The next logical step, of course, is planning a strategy to tackle the problem, which is no easy task, considering just how many facets of a company's operations play into the big green picture.

Not surprisingly, vendors are now lining up to help in developing green blueprints for shrinking carbon footprints and lowering energy consumption. Sun, for example, unveiled a set of services and tools last month as part of its Eco Innovation Initiative. IBM has boarded the green-consulting train, as has consulting firms such as A.T. Kearney, which just announced its plans to offer "carbon-neutral consulting."

And just today, BT's Global Services sustainability practice launched a service to help large organizations reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprint.

According to BT, the service will "take into account the way people's work patterns (such as their travel and IT use) contribute to CO2 emissions, and how business operations, shared services, and building infrastructure add to an organization’s carbon footprint." As part of the service, BT will help companies assess a variety of business scenarios to determine what benefits they might reap through, for example, virtualizing the call center or holding virtual meetings so as to cut travel.

"Importantly, when looking at clients' carbon emissions, we explore both the required behavior change as well as any adjustments to their infrastructure," said Scott Cain, head of IT transformation for BT Global Services, in a written statement. "Many of our customers have yet to mobilize significantly in this area and can benefit from BT's learning and capabilities to help them in their development of more sustainable business solutions."

Posted by Ted Samson on September 20, 2007 01:14 PM

September 20, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Technology alone won't solve your power problems

Sustainable IT We at InfoWorld have alluded to a power crisis, as have other pundits as well as analysts, and the proclamation has been met with some arguably healthy skepticism. But with more and more research coming out showing that companies truly are struggling to get the power they need to run their business, I'd have to say that healthy skepticism is bordering on either unhealthy denial or, with all due respect, outright ignorance.

The latest data I've seen pointing to a serious problem comes from a survey conducted by ONStor, a provider of NAS products. The company surveyed 369 IT decision makers and came away with truly troubling findings. First, 63 percent of the respondents said their organizations had experienced a shortage of power, space, and/or cooling -- without warning. Second, 43 percent are bracing for trouble, saying that at the current data growth rate, they could only stay in their current infrastructure for another six months to a year if they changed nothing. And third, 60 percent ofthe respondents said they either have a green plan in place, will have one in place in the next two years -- or have at least talked about the issue with management.

While I extend a hearty batch of kudos to those who do have a plan in place, I've got to say I feel some pangs of concern for the rest of the group, given that so many companies are reporting past or pending space, power, or cooling shortages. It's a serious problem, because it effectively translates to having to pull the reins on business growth until you can find devise strategies and accumulate the resources to deal with those problems.

Complicating matters further: There's no silver bullet, a point made quite clearly by Lewis Curtis, infrastructure architect and advisor at Microsoft. "Green datacenters = an architectural commitment, not a product strategy."

Indeed, as he points out, technologies such as virtualization and MAID and super-efficient quad-core processors can all potentially contribute to solving the power, space, and cooling problems companies face, but without a clear, forward-looking plan and ongoing processes, you're not going to reach that happy green place.

It's not an easy endeavor. There is, of course, the complex task of creating the technical blueprint for your green datacenter, taking into account present and future needs and figuring out, for example, which types of servers will best suit your business needs, which storage solutions make the most sense, what kind of cooling is ideal, and so forth.

Then there are factors that are beyond your control. For example, you very likely aren't generating your own power for your datacenter (unless you're AISO.net), so you need to be mindful of what's going on with your local utility and whether it will be able to provide the juice to meet your datacenter needs.

But beyond the technical planning, embracing greenery requires a significant shift in thinking throughout the organization. For example, it requires buy-in from management, who might not grasp the magnitude of the problem and thus might not invest the necessary resources in green projects that don't overtly contribute to the bottom line or to the growth of the business -- despite the fact that there are substantial long-term energy savings to be reaped from a green datacenter, not to mention losses that would be incurred with downtime or the inability to expand.

It also requires a shift in mindset from IT admins and staff, who will need to incorporate new processes in their regimen. For example, Rob Aldrich, marketing manager for datacenter solutions at Cisco, notes the importance of taking regular snapshots of energy efficiency, "setting up benchmarks to measure hardware utilization and performing regular audits. ... Figure out what's going on so you can make better decisions."

And if you want to look beyond the datacenter and strive to make your entire operation greener, it requires buy-in from all your employees as they rethink how they use company resources, decide whether they'll make extra print-outs of a document, and remember to shut down their computers and turn off the lights at the end of the day.

Suffice to say that the problem here is real, and the solution is complex. The good news is= that more companies are, in fact, becoming aware of the problem. Moreover, we're seeing big-name companies working both individually and side-by-side (a la The Green Grid) to deliver green benchmarks as well as products that interoperate to deliver greater power efficiency from the chip, memory, and power supply level up.

But those are all just tools. The real work lies with not only IT but C-level executives to devise a cohesive, long-term green strategy and to facilitate an organizational transformation to embrace that strategy and drive it forward. And perhaps assigning a point person to lead the charge is a good place to start.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 20, 2007 03:00 AM

September 18, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Survey: 63 percent of companies have run out of datacenter power, space

I'm not a Trekkie, but I have vivid memories of scenes where Captain Kirk would suddenly demand of Scotty, the chief engineer, "We need more power!" when trying to complete a critical task.

These days, plenty of datacenter operators feel Scotty's pain. According to a recent survey, 63 percent of IT organizations have run out of power, space, or cooling capacity -- without warning.

That statistic, brought to us by NAS vendor ONStor, is a perfect indication of why the green technology movement is heating up. Running out of datacenter power, space, or cooling capacity without warning has some pretty dire consequences. One day, your company is humming along, enjoying growth and success. Then you realize one day, out of the blue, you discover you can't add any more machines to your datacenter, due to lack of power, space, and/or cooling. You tell the CEO you've hit a capacity ceiling and have to turn away business. He hits the floor. The poop hits the fan.

That's where a well-developed green-technology strategy comes in: Companies need to find ways to squeeze the most efficiency out of their hardware through such approaches as consolidation, virtualization, smart cooling, and good old-fashioned conservation.

Whereas 63 percent of the 369 respondents in ONStor's survey have already suffered the consequences of insufficient planning, another 43 percent are bracing for trouble, saying that at the current data growth rate, they could only stay in their current infrastructure for another six months to a year if they changed nothing. Fortunately, they have time on their hands, plus the benefit of realizing that a threat is looming.

But how many companies will manage to act in time? According to the ONStor survey: 60 percent of respondents reported that they either have a green initiative in place, would have one in place in the next two years, or had at least talked about it with management. I'm curious how that statistic breaks down, because there's a huge difference between having a plan and simply talking about it.

"We know from conversations with our customers that datacenter power consumption amidst the exorbitant growth of data is a key concern for CIOs and other IT professionals," said Bob Miller, ONStor CEO, in a written statement. "What we find most interesting from this survey is how many executives aren't implementing solutions to address these challenges. There's a disconnect between having an awareness of the need to lower power consumption in the datacenter and doing something about it."

Among other notable findings in the study: Nearly 40 percent of respondents said they would go green if doing so resulted in 20 to 50 percent cost savings; more than than one third would go green for 10 to 20 percent cost savings.

My take here: Clearly, a business wants an ROI on any technology investments it makes. One of the benefits of green technology is that companies can see significant and measurable long-term savings on energy bills. Moreover, if your datacenter is crammed to capacity, embracing green technology to free up space and power is a clearly superior choice over the alternative of putting a hold on your company's growth as you invest millions of dollars and at least a couple of years building a brand new facility.

And according to the ONStor survey, that's a realistic choice that some companies are facing: 24 percent of respondents reported that the cost and time of building another datacenter is the most serious issue driving the reduction of data infrastructure power consumption.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 18, 2007 11:21 AM

September 17, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Alert: Code green

I don't much like waiting, and I don't much like waste. Hence, Neil McCallister's article "7 reasons why software is slow" piqued my interest. I delve a lot into hardware in this here blog, but I don't much write too much about applications and platforms in the context of green technology. But it's an important subject, one that I expect IT admins with an eye on energy efficiency will start paying more attention to.

The gist of Neil's article, as the headline succinctly suggests, is that various factors contribute to slow application performance, including code bloat and excessive bells and whistles. And if you think about it, those superfluous lines of coding, whether in the form of inefficient database calls or pointless features like, oh, talking animated paperclips, put extra burden on hardware. They're making desktop and/or server processors do unncecessary work. They're adding an extra burden to network traffic, too. And that not only adds up to wasted time for users, but it's a waste of CPU cycles, which means a waste of energy.

Moreover, as companies roll out new versions of applications and platforms, customers who are being pushed to adopt them face the expense of a mass hardware upgrade. There, too, is potential waste, even for a company that's diligently recycling its hardware. Yes, it's conceivable that the new version has some much-needed additions that wouldn't be possible without the new gear (e.g. that can make the most of a quad-core processor). You can justify the expense of not only the initial investment but the long-term power costs of higher-end server boxes or desktop systems.

But it's also conceivable that you're getting a new platform that's bogged down with a super-slick, graphically intensive UI and a feature set that you really doesn't make sense for your users -- who may not even be taking full advantage of the previous version's features.

My takeaway from all this is that while a lot of green responsibility does lie with the hardware vendors, the companies that deliver the platforms that run on those boxes have a responsibility, too. They need to hone their wares to efficiently take advantage of the ever-increasing computing power the industry is enjoying. Just because there are marchines out there that can support enormous system requirements doesn't mean you have to make your software swell to that footprint.

Application developers out there, I'd especially like to know what you think about this.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 17, 2007 03:37 PM

September 13, 2007 | Comments: (0)

AMD lays down a green chip in Barcelona

Company bets on extreme efficiency with Barcelona -- that's textbook green advancement

I've always wanted to visit Spain. Catedrales. Museos. Tapas. Siestas. What's not to like? But while I may not be running with the bulls anytime soon, I have enjoyed this week's tour of Barcelona, AMD's newly minted quad-core processor. While InfoWorld's tests of the chip's capabilities are still under way, this little piece of silicon has the potential to make the green-tech-conscious datacenter operator cheer, "Ole!"

For all the facts and features I've absorbed in my briefings about Barcelona -- including a video interview with the company's director of server operations Bruce Shaw -- one stands out most for me: The chip delivers more than twice the combined integer and floating-point performance of its two-core predecessor at the same thermal envelope, according to AMD's SPEC tests. That's to say, despite the power boost, it effectively uses the same amount of energy and produces the same amount of heat as a two-core. One of the ways AMD accomplishes this feat: The cores are capable of powering down, or off, when they're not being used.

That, to me, is a textbook example of a green technological advancement. It means AMD has minted a processor with significantly higher performance per watt than its predecessor, a metric that's becoming increasingly important to datacenter operators compared to just raw speed. It would be like a car company unveiling an engine with twice the horsepower but the same gas mileage.

But Barcelona's green promise doesn't end there: Consider, also, that AMD designs its chips such that you can easily swap out an old one -- in this case, a two-core Opteron -- pop in a new four-quad, tweak the BIOS, and poof, you've got an upgraded machine. Not only is that a significant time-saver for upgrading your machines, but it means you can essentially double the overall processing power of your server farm without having to recycle or dispose of a single piece of otherwise-useful hardware. Therein lies another ecofriendly boon.

Rounding out the array of Barcelona's green-tech benefits: It's primed for virtualization. According to Shaw, AMD worked closely with the major virtualization vendors, including Microsoft, VMWare, and Xen to hone and accelerate the quad-core's virtualization capabilities. For example, the chip has a new feature called Rapid Virtualization Indexing, which, according to AMD, transfers to the chip some of the virtualization functionality previous performed by the software. The payoff: AMD claims the chip can deliver 79 percent more virtual machines that can its fastest dual-core processor. (That's a very conservative estimate, Shaw notes.)

Now, if the numbers AMD is sharing are correct, there's cause indeed for excitement for datacenter operators who are feeling the pressure of limited datacenter space and high energy bills. When you combine the performance boost of the chip alone and add in the virtualization boost, you're looking at a ton of potential to get far more work out of your machines.

There's a lot more to Barcelona, and I suggest you not only watch my video interview with Shaw but also check out Tom Yager's analysis. He's been immersed in information about the chip for quite some time now, plus he's testing it to see if it's all that AMD claims. (He's also put together a comparison of Intel's and AMD's respective four-quad CPUs right here.)

AMD has suffered some financial difficulty recently, and some analysts suggest that Barcelona is coming to the table too late to give the chipmaker the boost it needs. From my green-tech perspective, though, AMD appears to have created a piece of silicon that is very, very well suited for a day and age in which companies are becoming highly conscientious of their power consumption and limited datacenter space (not to mention their carbon footprints). This is an important piece of green technology, one that certainly warrants at least a close look from the enterprise.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 13, 2007 03:00 AM

September 13, 2007 | Comments: (0)

In the chip race, efficiency beats speed

Following is essentially the content of today's Green Tech Newsletter. I generally don't post the newsletter verbatim in my blog, but it seemed important enough in the context of my piece about Barcelona. The newsletter, by the way, is free. You can subscribe here.

AMD and Intel have been locked in fierce races for quite a while now, the latest being the race to first deliver a quad-core processor. Intel managed to win by a nose there, unleashing Tigerton a few days before AMD presented Barcelona.

But speed alone won't be the determining factor as to which of these two processors will reign in the datacenter. Driven by customer demand for more energy-efficient hardware, both companies are talking up the importance of a less-familiar metric called performance per watt (PPW). As Intel tells it, "performance per system watt is calculated by taking the performance score from a benchmark or application and dividing it by the average system power usage (AC power from the wall)."

At a press meeting with Randy Allen, VP in charge of AMD's server and workstation division, Allen confirmed that there's been a shift in what customers want from hardware. "The traditional buying criterion has been peak performance. People would buy at the highest peak performance they could or they would buy on performance per dollar. ... This emergence of performance per watt has been dramatic over the last two years."

The problem with PPW is it's difficult to measure. To draw on a familiar example, what's a better performer: a hybrid or a pickup? The hybrid will certainly deliver more miles to the gallon if you're using it to get around town for work or play, but if the task is hauling lumber or heavy equipment, you'll get better results with the truck. Then again, if speed truly is what you need, gas costs be darned, maybe that Porsche is right for you.

Back to servers, then, how does a datacenter operator go about assessing whether Machine A or Machine B will deliver better PPW for, say, the company's accounting application? In my interview with Bruce Shaw, director of server operations at AMD, he told me the best approach is to load up your app on your server, then measure it at the wall.

Sure, that's not as simple as being able to look at the vendor-provided figures and know for certain which machine is the best overall performer for your specific needs. Then again, the exercise is a valuable one, given that filling your racks with the machines that gives you the best PPW will save you money in the long run -- just like filling your corporate fleet with hybrid trucks just might make more sense economically and ecologically than a fleet of Segways.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 13, 2007 03:00 AM

September 07, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Guilt-free reading

I wanted to follow up on my article from yesterday about organizations finding various ways to reduce paper waste.

First, a while back, Test Center Contributor Mike Heck got his hands on Adobe Digital Editions (ADE), "a lightweight rich Internet application for easily downloading, organizing, and reading e-books and other digital publications. Beneath the hood is Flash Player 9 and Flex 2, which makes for an especially consumer-friendly experience. This starts with a bookshelf metaphor for organizing publications that you've borrowed, purchased, or read."

Now at this point, it's difficult for me to be too bullish about e-books. In theory, they're great: You can carry around dozens of titles on, say, your Sony Reader instead of renting a pack-mule to shlep them for you. But the average consumer probably doesn't want to invest that kind of money in an electronic gadget, and more important, isn't ready to abandon the traditional tree-based form factor. With time, I can certainly see that changing, mind you, as members of society continue to grow increasingly comfortable with ingesting data digitally. (I know I can spend a lot more time reading from my monitor than I once could.)

E-books might not be fully embraced for years to come, but with a tool like ADE, I see a lot of promise today for technical documentation, such as white papers and manuals, and even digital versions of magazines. Aesthetically, they can be of the same quality as a paper counterpart -- but as Mike notes, ADE lets you embed Flash video, which can be a tremendously useful (or entertaining) addition. Moreover, digital documents are easy to share with others, and, if you really, really need to, you can print them out.

And on a related note (and partially what prompted me to post this): You can sign up for the free weekly InfoWorld Express, a PDF package of some of the top content from InfoWorld.com. It doesn't come embedded with any video, nor is it of quite as pretty as was our former print product. But it's quite a useful resource, in case you missed one of our important features, reviews, or opinion pieces during the week.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to do this, but here's this week's InfoWorld Express. Check it out. If you like it, you can sign up to get it free every Friday.

I'd love to know what you think about the pros and cons of digital versions of books, magazines, and other documents versus their paper counterparts. Feel free to comment below.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 7, 2007 10:30 AM

September 06, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Follow the paperless trail

Companies are finding digital paper more efficient, secure, and economical than the tree-pulp-based variety

digital, paperless A paperless world is a long way off, but many businesses are taking strides to at least create a less-paper world. Companies across various industries are finding ways to cut paper waste, from issuing electronic tickets and PDF receipts to incorporating electronic document management systems.

As with so many other green technologies out there, the driving influence here isn't necessarily sparing trees nor reducing one's carbon impact on the environment (though saving one ream of paper means five fewer pounds of CO2). Rather, it's a matter of boosting efficiency; making an easier-to-maintain paper(less) trail (nice for compliance purposes); boosting continuity (a digital copy of your files is handy if a natural disaster hits); and saving cash in the long term on costs associated with printing and mailing. (For some perspective on mailing costs, U.S. businesses spent an estimated $800 billion on direct mail correspondence to potential and existing customers last year, which translates into over 115 billion pieces of mail.)

Also a boon: less time wasted tracking down evasive faxes and archived paper documents, as well as transferring the data on those pages to electronic format.

Yeah, that's the ticket
One of the growing trends is so-called paperless tickets. ("So-called" because there's still paper involved; just far less.) Last week, the IATA (International Air Transport Association) -- which represents more than 240 airlines comprising 94 percent of international scheduled air traffic -- said that it would stop issuing paper tickets come May 31, 2008. The AITA says that airlines will save $9 per paper ticket that way, which adds up to $3 billion in annual savings for the industry. (Whether any of those savings will get passed on to Joe and Jane Aisle-Seat remains to be seen, but let's not hold our breath, lest we cause that little oxygen mask to drop.)

The IATA says the move will also spare "the equivalent of 50,000 mature trees each year."

Now, I've read some comments about this move, the authors of which have expressed concern that the cost of the paper tickets is essentially being passed on to the consumer, but I think that's a misconception or an exaggeration, depending on how you look at it.

If you haven't flown with a paperless ticket, here's how it works: You make your reservation and receive a confirmation e-mail. Now, you could print up that itinerary, if you need a printed point of reference, but it's not necessary. You could just access that info from your portable device, or jot down the basic on a piece of scrap paper. Then you show up at the airport before your flight and show your ID and a credit card to the nice person behind the counter (or better yet, you swipe it in one of those check-in kiosks). In turn, you'll receive one slip of paper, your boarding pass, which includes all the pertinent info. That's it.

So from a customer standpoint, it's really a lot easier than having to worry about whether your tickets have arrived, or whether you've left them at home on the bed beside the clean underwear you'd meant to pack. Plus with an e-mail confirmation, you can easily get at your details through your wireless device, just in case you've forgotten whether you're taking off at 1:27 a.m. Pacific or Eastern Time.

On a related note, The Boston Globe had an article last month about a company called Flash Seats, which is pushing electronic tickets to concerts, sporting events, and the like.

It works similarly to the e-tickets for airlines: When you order your tickets online, the order is associated with your credit card or identification. And when it's time to go to the game or show, you don't scour the house for the tickets or stand in line at will call; you swipe your credit card or driver's license as you go in. In turn, you get a paper guide telling you where your seats are.

In case your card isn't read, "venue officials verify the person's identity by asking agreed-upon security questions, such as mother's maiden name or first pet's name."

The Cleveland Cavaliers gave the system a spin last season. Participation was voluntary. "About 17 percent of season ticket holders used the system last season, a portion that [increased] to 50 percent during the club's playoff run into the NBA Finals," according to the Boston Globe article.

In addition to reducing paper waste, the system means potentially better control and security. "Team officials say they would like to maintain greater control to improve security, to prevent counterfeiting, and to reclaim some of the money that is going to third-party resellers such as eBay, StubHub, RazorGator, and AceTicket," says the Globe article.

From an end-user perspective, though, you do lose some convenience. Rather than being able to give tickets to friends so they can meet you at a show later, you have to go through the steps of having the electronic tickets transferred to their names, or else be sure that everyone arrives on time to go in together.

Would you like an e-ceipt with that?
I wrote about e-receipts a while back after learning that at Apple Stores, you can opt to have a receipt sent to you via e-mail instead of issued in paper form on the spot. To me, it seems like a natural evolution in receipts. That's how my proofs of purchase show up when I order online, or when I pay bills online, so why not when I make an in-store purchase? (I might be a bit warier for purchases made with cash, but as long as there's an electronic record stored with my bank or credit card company, I feel fine.)

But the paperless push doesn't just end for end-user purchases. Environmental Leader reports that UPS is trying to convince SMBs to adopt electronic billing by tugging at their eco-conscious heartstrings: "UPS has partnered with the National Arbor Day Foundation to make a $1 donation to the organization for every customer who opts for the paperless PDF invoice."

As UPS describes it, the benefits of a PDF receipt are numerous. It no doubt saves the company cash on printing and mailing receipts. And for customers, it means you receive receipts faster and in convenient electronic format.

Make the pile lower
Electronic tickets and receipts are, to me, really low-hanging fruit in the drive toward the paperless office. They represent the end part of complex workflows that are often tied to hard-to-change business practices and technology (or lack thereof).

One of the most obvious ways to cut paper (and print) waste at the office is to crack down on all the superfluous printing and copies end-users make. The average employee reportedly wastes $85 worth of printer paper and ink each year through unnecessary prints. Products such as GreenPrint offer an easy, non-disruptive tool for putting a dent in the pile. The utility lets users preview printouts and easily remove specific pages, text, or graphics from a print session.

But companies are taking further steps to reduce paper use, in the name of boosting efficiency. Insurance company Lloyd's (of London) has most recently garnered attention in publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Times Online for company CEO Richard Ward's paper-cutting efforts. According to the Times, "a colleague in IT told him that each day Lloyd's was sending four tons of documents to its sorting office in Chatham, all carried by those white vans."

Ward told The Wall Street Journal that he's tackling the paper deluge on a small scale, liking it to "eating an elephant with a teaspoon." "We have to take small bites out of that elephant to make sure we can digest the changes we're making," he told The WSJ.
Among changes Ward has implemented, as he outlined in a speech in May: "Last year, we introduced an electronic filing cabinet - a document repository that enables claims and premiums to be handled quickly and efficiently without the need for paper files. ... Currently a fifth of all in scope claims are being processed using the Electronic Claims File. This is a significant increase on the 5 percent at the beginning of the year."

"In addition," he added, "if you look at Accounting and Settlement, more than 80,000 premium-related transactions have been processed electronically. Once again there has been a significant increase from the beginning of the year."

He says that the company's processing 30 percent of its claims electronically now, but the the goal is to hit 100 percent by March 31. "We might have a symbolic crushing of a van, and it might become a piece of art somewhere inside or outside the building. That might be quite appropriate to do once we've reached our goals," he told the Journal.

(Notably, crushing an otherwise useful van might not be the ideal way to celebrate an eco-friendly achievement of reducing paper waste and boosting efficiency, but that is another story.)

Keep your fax straight
There are plenty of other recent examples I can point to of organizations strolling the paperless trail. Rosen Hotels and Resorts recently announced that it adopted a fax server solution called RightFax from Captaris and integrated its Microsoft Exchange, Cisco CallManager, and Canon MFPs (multifunction peripherals). The end result: a central document management solution, used at the company's seven hotels, as well as its medical center and the insurance agency, to easily store and share documents that used to be passed around in paper format.

Among other features, the combined solution lets employees send faxes from just about any desktop app, or right from the MFPs, rather than having to deal with paper. Moreover, faxes are filed into SharePoint, where they can be accessed from within the network or remotely. Also handy: Employees on the go can receive immediate notifications when important documents are received.

Paper still plays a vital role in the business world, and no doubt will for years to come. But as more companies trade in reams of paper, stacks of pricey ink cartridges, and boxes of mailing supplies for PDFs, digital ink, e-mail, and document management systems, we'll collectively reap the benefits of a less-paper world.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 6, 2007 03:00 AM

September 05, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Survey: Companies keen on green but hazy on strategy

Fifty-five percent of large North American companies have established a detailed green datacenter strategy -- despite the fact that 73 percent aren't entirely sure just what constitutes a green datacenter.

These are just a couple of the findings from a survey recently conducted by Digital Realty Trust, which acquires, develops, and manages technology and datacenter-related real estate. The company polled datacenter decision-makers at 105 organizations, with revenues of at least $1 billion and at least 5,000 employees, to assess green datacenter trends.

According to Digital Realty, one of the overall takeaways from the survey is that "green datacenter trends have taken root more quickly and more deeply than previously understood -- perhaps even more so than even energetic proponents of green IT would have guessed themselves."

The company is basing that conclusion, in part, on the fact that 55 percent of respondents said they have mapped out a clear plan for greening up their datacenters. Of that 55 percent, 80 percent said their strategies encompass not only system hardware but the facility design and operations as well. That's not surprising, given the recent attention being given to factors such as the high costs of cooling.

But interestingly, and again, perhaps not surprisingly, 73 percent said they weren't entirely clear just what constitutes a green datacenter. Digital Realty attributes that stat to the fact that there aren't really any clear standards out there. Individual companies as well as consortiums such as The Green Grid have devised some benchmarks and best practices and are working on more, but it's true: There's no textbook definition or blueprints for building a green datacenter.

Notably, though, that hasn't stopped big-name companies such as Sun and IBM from moving forward in "greenovating" their datacenter facilities. Seems to me that there are plenty of tools and technologies out there that companies can embrace to define and build a green -- that is, energy-efficient -- datacenter that best suits their needs.

One last set of findings that I found interesting: "Only 25 percent of respondents said that their company required its datacenter vendors to have a 'green' strategy. And 64 percent said that they would work with partner that did not have a declared green strategy. Further, only 3 in 10 respondents indicated that it was 'very' or 'extremely important' that their datacenter partners delineate their own strategy for green operation."

I guess this isn't too surprising. Whereas some of the big-name vendors out there do hold their partner companies to a high eco-standard -- and even help them along the way -- I suspect leaders at other large companies don't really see value in policing their partners' environmental practices. It's likely more a case of just wanting to use the supplier that offers the lowest prices or the best service -- sort of like stores that buy materials or goods from socially irresponsible companies that employ sweatshops, for example, or food chains that purchase meat from providers that treat their animals inhumanely.

I do realize that morality is subjective and that some people might take issue with my likening a company that abuses its workers to a company that's not as ecologically responsible as it could be. But the fact remains: There's something to be said for choosing to work with partners whose corporate values are in line with your own. Plus, on both an individual level and an organizational level, we have the power to drive positive change with the dollars we spend. We can invest in companies whose practices are making the world a better place, or we can invest in the status quo.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 5, 2007 03:30 PM

September 03, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Pope Benedict preaches the merits of green

Politicians aren't the only leaders out there pushing for businesses and individuals to embrace green practices, such as reducing waste and carbon emissions for the sake of the planet (and the economy). Religious leaders are chiming in as well.

On Sunday at a gathering in Loreto, Italy, Pope Benedict XVI called for people (well, specifically young Catholics, according to the AP, but I bet he'd liked others to follow suit) to take steps to better protect the Earth. "Before it's too late, we need to make courageous choices that will recreate a strong alliance between man and Earth. ... We need a decisive 'yes' to care for creation and a strong commitment to reverse those trends that risk making the situation of decay irreversible."

Apparently, the Vatican is taking steps of its own to be eco-friendly. According to the report, "the Vatican ... has joined a reforestation project aimed at offsetting its CO2 emissions, and has also said it was installing solar cells on the roof of its main auditorium."

Moreover, at the gathering, participants received "biodegradable plates, recycling bags for their trash and a hand-cranked cell-phone recharger." (I wonder if they saw my guide to green geek goodies?)

I find it fascinating and heartening how this green wave has spread, becoming a common bond among differing business, political, and religious leaders. But it really should not be a surprise. More and more people are beginning to realize that the beauty of "going green" is, it's not only good for the planet and its inhabitants, but it's good for business, giving companies a way to save money by eliminating wasteful practices. I think that's been pretty well-documented.

And as I've said before, as more and more leaders and citizens of this little blue-green planet of ours clamor for ways to reduce waste, technologists will be continue to play a vital role in developing the tools to make that green dream a reality.

Posted by Ted Samson on September 3, 2007 01:40 AM

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