Growth In Number Of CIOs Deploying Green IT: Ovum

Almost three-quarters of CIOs have deployed green IT within their organisation, with an additional eight per cent planning to do so by the end of 2012, finds new research from Ovum.

According to a survey by the independent technology analyst, the number of organisations using green IT grew to 73 per cent in the second half of 2010, up from approximately 68 per cent in the first half, as tightened IT budgets and a sluggish economy forced IT decision-makers to scrutinise spending and wake up to the potential cost savings green IT can deliver.

Looking ahead to the end of 2012, Ovum’s survey revealed that a further eight per cent plan to deploy green IT.

Rhonda Ascierto, Ovum analyst and author of a new report unveiling the survey findings, commented: “This growth in green IT penetration reflects a change of attitude by CIOs and other IT decision-makers. Previously, they considered green IT optional because they defined its value primarily in terms of corporate image, rather than the bottom line.”

“It is now viewed as a core technology that that delivers business value by cutting costs and increasing efficiency. We believe this change has occurred because of constrained IT budgets and a sluggish global economy in the wake of the recession, which forced organisations to scrutinise spending on all types of IT. Many CIOs have for the first time had to calculate a financial return on investment of green IT.”

Ovum surveyed CIOs about five major categories of green IT: datacentre virtualisation, datacentre power and cooling technologies, desktop virtualisation, printing and paper usage management, and power management tools for PCs and monitors. All will experience growth in penetration over the next couple of years.

Of these different areas of green IT, datacentre virtualisation has the greatest penetration; with 52 per cent of the CIOs Ovum spoke to saying they use it. According to Ovum’s survey, this figure will grow to 65 per cent over the next couple of years.