Is this Green IT?

I must be getting cynical in my old age — or maybe just cynical when it comes to marketing!  Either way, I just have to say something about the advertisement I recently saw saying to “Make Your Company Greener” by hosting your server with them.  Actually the idea is very catchy (Hey — it caught my eye!).  I even browsed the ad more than once, and now I’m blogging about it!

The claims for their service are nobel, the marketing spin excellent - but is this green IT?  I think NOT!

I think green IT involves much more than virtualizing servers, although that is certainly a step in the right direction.  I think it also involves re-thinking the business processes and how they affect the need for the multitude of equipment which we so readily add.  I think it involves a major shift toward the “paperless office” and all that the concept has promised.  Green IT won’t happen overnight - it isn’t a place to go!  Rather I think “Green IT” is a way of doing business, in fact, a way of life.