Huge Power Reductions Required for IT Carbon Target

IT departments will have to make huge cuts in the power they use, to reach the UK’s mandatory targets for emission of greenhouse gases – but those reductions are possible through better management of servers and desktops, a virtual conference will hear tomorrow.

Green IT means a lot more than just reducing the power used by company IT systems, but that is the most immediate concern of many It managers, according to presenters at BrightTalk’s IT Power Management event, a free online summit where experts will describe various solutions to reduce IT power demands.

“The things that drive Green IT are regulations, money and public image,” said analyst David Tebbutt, programme director at Freeform Dynamics, who will speak on enterprise energy management. “All those are coming into play, as IT management realises the need to be more responsible.”

The UK has promised to reduce its carbon emissions by 34 percent before 2020 (over 1990 levels), and by 80 percent before 2050, in the Climate Change Act of 2008, and these will require serious changes to the way we operate, said Tebbutt.

The event, on 18 August, takes green thinking to heart, and as it involves no travel has a minimal carbon footprint. Presenters around the world will address power reduction – mostly achieved through better management of servers and desktops – while seated at their own desks. Delegates, likewise, register free and can interact with speakers through the Web.

Organisations can cut their IT power in two main ways – by using servers more efficiently, and by managing desktops so they are switched off when not in use. Both of these aspects will be covered in the day.

Former Gartner vice president Josh Kirschner will address ways to reduce power in enterprise storage and servers, assisted by presenters including Phil Morris, a chief technologist at Sun Microsystems. The desktop side will be covered by Mike Walker, president of Beacon Consultants Network, and others.

The event follows a successful one on next generation data centres last month.

The presentations will be available online after the event – though obviously only those attending them live get the opportunity to ask questions.