CA Pushes Lean Over Green

While IT vendors such as IBM and Dell, are keen to attach themselves to the environmental movement with green claims for their products, CA has opted for another tactic – lean IT.

The tough global economy means companies are trying to get the most value from their IT implementations, said CA chief executive John Swainson at an event in Melboure, Australia, this week.

“Lean IT is about using IT to further business goals, in the most efficient ways possible. It’s about applying practical innovation to drive the kind of results that are enabling organisations to compete more effectively in this challenging environment,” said Swainson.

Swainson discussed how Australian bank St. George used CA products to help improve the efficiency of its CRM systems which “increased transparency between IT and the business and gives St.George the insight it needs to optimise operations and drive results”.

Recent economic conditions have increased the expectation for companies to do more with less said Swainson. “While I can’t tell you when the recession will end and when the recovery will begin, I strongly believe that technology will help lead the way—because it’s the key to business innovation. The companies that drive innovation are the ones that will succeed in the marketplace, now and in the future,” he said.

Meanwhile, to mark World Environment Day, computer maker Dell announced that it has joined The Prince’s Rainforests Project (PRP), an environmental initiative established by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales in 2007 to raise awareness of the link between rainforest destruction and climate change.

“As a company, we work to minimise the impact our operations and products have on the planet, and we’re very deliberate in those efforts. But campaigns like the Prince’s Rainforest Project help us reach far beyond Dell,” said Dell, chairman and chief executive, Michael Dell. “The rainforests are critical to the health of our planet. This is a chance to come together as one global community around a something that’s vital to all of us.”

But despite Dell’s claims to want to improve its environmental standing, environmental experts, including the UK goverment’s main representative on green IT, have backed the idea of users reducing lifecycle costs by sweating assets and consuming less – which is at odds with Dell’s basic business model of selling as many PCs as possible.

Speaking at the Green IT ’09 conference in London, Cabinet Office deputy champion for green ICT Catalina McGregor, said that government departments will be asked to potentially hold onto existing IT kit longer.

To mark World Environment Day, United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said that the world needs a “Green New Deal” focused on investing in renewable sources of energy, eco-friendly infrastructure and energy efficiency. “This will not only create jobs and spur recovery but also help tackle global warming,” he said. “If we invest even part of the substantial new economic stimulus packages in the green economy, we can turn today’s crisis into tomorrow’s sustainable growth. Moreover, countries that make the transition to a low-carbon society will reap more than significant environmental benefits; they will be well-placed to share their new technology with others.”