Industry news

IT departments 'will need to use new technology to reduce emissions'

IT departments within large businesses in Europe will increasingly have to look at ways they can reduce their emissions, an industry expert has said.

John-Paul Kamath, deputy technology editor for ComputerWeekly.com, explained that firms were increasingly focusing on their emissions and that IT was generally one of the biggest contributors to a company's carbon footprint.

As a result, Mr Kamath suggested that IT managers would be increasingly asked to find ways to use new technology to reduce emissions.

Mr Kamath explained: "As 'green' climbs up the corporate agenda of most companies, managers inevitably will look towards the biggest users of energy within their companies – and that's likely to be the IT department.

"So as more company reports mention the importance of going green, as it climbs the corporate agenda, it will become increasingly an issue that IT departments will have to deal with."

Recently, Microsoft's Bill O'Brien suggested that businesses looking to reduce their IT emissions could consider investing in virtualisation systems.

"It's estimated only five per cent of businesses are virtualised today, that represents a tremendous growth potential and an incredible saving in terms of businesses expenditure on energy year-on-year," he explained.