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Preface
Info-Tech’s 2007 Green Index indicates that one-quarter of IT lead-
ers in the United States are either “very” or “extremely” concerned about
energy efficiency and environmental responsibility, yet only nine percent
consider themselves to be “very” or “extremely” green. The index sur-
veyed more than 700 people in North America during February 2007.
The market research firm said that dedicated green budgets for IT ini-
ptg
tiatives might, in turn, influence vendors and suppliers to meet similar
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green mandates. Large players, such as Dell, HP, IBM , Cisco, and Sun,
have jumped on the green bandwagon, and Info-Tech anticipates a sig-
nificant increase in the amount of green-focused products and marketing
collateral as green adoption continues to gain traction. According to the
market research firm IDC, by 2010, for every $1 spent on hardware, 70
cents will be spent on power and cooling. By 2012, for every $1 spent on
hardware, $1 will be spent on power and cooling.
At this time, most companies are considering the effects that their
Information Technology (IT) architectures and installations are having
on the environment. This book outlines the major issues they face. It
also describes, through case studies, how the green IT experiences of
many different organizations can be leveraged for your company.
Although IT and data centers are inherently technical, this book is
intended for the nontechnical audience, as well. That’s because data cen-
ters and IT in general (including our laptops, PDAs, the Internet, and so
on) are significant contributors to greenhouse gas pollutants and global
climate change. Recent UN and White House sessions on climate
change have emphasized the environmental importance of green proj-
ects. Although controversial, Al Gore’s film and book, An Inconvenient
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