More than ever the words "Global Warming" have been plethorically utilised by the Media in an attempt to make us aware of the damage we are doing to the Earth. We have heard about Carbon as part of the gas CO2 that we exhale and we learnt that the trees would convert this into oxygen with the help of some water and sunlight through photosynthesis. Now we have Carbon associated with credits you can buy to become Carbon neutral thereby allowing you to have Carbon emissions and feel good about what you are doing as a business in emitting Carbon. The colour Green has become a verb and has never been so popular as it becomes an endorsement businesses like to advertise about their activities.

So what does I.T. Basecamp think about it? Well, as the author of this document and one of the owners of the company, I feel writing this document may help the cause. So here goes!

The Simple Stuff

My parents would nag me as a child about leaving the lights on and subsequently having a large power bill. Now we have so many more things that consume power.

Night Time - Turn it Off

Each PC consumes between 300 and 1000w depending on its age and size. This can result in 200-600 kg of Carbon emissions each year. The simple rule applies. If it isn't being used switch it off. AT I.T. Basecamp we are adopting a singular larger Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) in each office. Each UPS can support 3-4 PCs, phones and the screens attached. Each morning this is turned on and each night they are turned off at the UPS and the wall.

Recycling

Are you currently recycling ink and toner cartridges and old equipment? Most large manufacturers have a recycling policy for all of their products. Planet Ark offer these services as well. If you are unsure and need advice please contact us. Used and retired computer equipment is best left out of landfill. Here are some links

The Future - Upgrading

Centralisation

Most companies tend to have a server of some sort these days with centralised information on them. Did you know that your servers can also provide virtualisation? This means that one server can actually host many servers or server types in one box. We can help if you are looking to upgrade. Imagine that one server can replace all 2, 3 or 4 that you currently have.

Thin Clients

Thin client is becoming the defacto standard in large organisations today. Terminal services can allow 10-20 or even a few hundred user desktops to be hosted from one or more servers. This not only benefits from less power usage by using a screen and small low powered thin client terminal, but it helps centralise information to the server equipment to allow for easy management and backup.

Managed Services

Data centres are filling fast. You may think this is one big Carbon emission but looking at the above examples of Thin Client and Centralisation all of this can be done from a data centre. In walks managed services, or as its known Software as a Service (SAAS), (More information on SAAS here). As the internet becomes a more usable service with higher speeds managed services are becoming the sensible choice. Watch this space for more information.

Conclusion

Much more can be said on this topic, but sitting here writing it I am producing Carbon emissions! Nevertheless, I.T. Basecamp is keen to assist. The one way we have found to ensure we are on track is by looking at our energy bills. The lesser they are the more power we are saving.