Evaluation of Green Information Technology and Information Systems - Case Study Example

? Evaluation of Green Information Technology and Information Systems Introduction The widespread applications of computertechnology have necessitated the need for production and sales of computer hardware that conserves the environment. The impacts of electronics and its accessories in the environment have created widespread campaign for the development of environmental technologies to reduce the impacts of e-waste on the environment. Green computing also referred to as green technology in a number of academic literatures is the applications of computers and its accessories in environmental friendly manner. The need for this kind of technology has also been necessitated by energy conservation concerns raised by environmental conservation bodies. The reduction in the overall production of computers and the development of proper disposal of the e-waste are some of the factors behind the growth in green technologies (Hassan, Molla & Cooper, 2012). In the early 90s, most computer manufacturing companies in the United States made voluntary efforts to manufacture energy saving computer devices, which were labeled with the energy star mark. Today, government regulations and enactments have acted to strengthen the manufacture and sales of green computers. Such steps are partly facilitated by international treaties and ratifications that are meant to reduce environmental destruction caused by electronic waste (Dedrick, 2010). In this paper, the current advances in the development of green technologies and computing will be analyzed in relation to the available scientific research. A number of practice borders on the adoption of green technologies, which guide policy formulation in this sector. This paper will review the practices that guide the development of green technologies in the United States and other developed countries across the world. The development of green technologies involves a number of processes, which this paper will also seek to provide. Finally, the paper will discuss the challenges affecting the development of green technologies by different companies and the solutions adopted to curb these challenges (Dedrick, 2010). Background of green computing The development of sustainable computer and information technology systems is a major concern to environmental agencies around the world. This has necessitated the development and growth of green information and computing as adopted by a number of companies around the world. Sustainability in the manufacture of computers relates to issues such as the economic, environmental and social impacts. Thus, Green technologies and computing work towards ensuring the sustainability of the computer applications in different organizations (Hassan, Molla & Cooper, 2012). The idea behind the development of green technologies was necessitated by the need for energy efficient and environmental friendly computer system. Such a system consumes less energy and reduces the impacts of the e-waste on the environment. In building sustainability in the information technology, green computing seeks to introduce a coordinated planning and investing technology that seeks to serve the interest and desires of the users. According to Ozturk (2011), there exist a distinction between green information technology (IT) and green information systems (IS). The development of green information technology seeks to create products that increase energy efficiency and the maximization of the equipment utilization. Green information system however concerns the design and implementation of information’s systems, which are capable of improving the overall sustainability and reliability of business processes (Dedrick, 2010). Green information technologies have a number of goals and issues that it seeks to address. The replacement of personal computers with energy efficient computer hardware also forms part of the evolution of green information technology. The energy saving mission of green computing does not just end with efficiency of the hardware but the development of operating systems and virtualization software that can operate multiple operating systems when anchored on one server. Within this setup, the data centers created must also be able to reduce the overall energy consumptions and be able to effectively use renewable sources of energy (Melville, 2010). Green information systems seeks to manipulate power consumptions and management if the existing computing technologies to help save energy. It results into the development of clean manufacturing practices, the development of sustainable and efficient data center designs. The development if recyclable technologies have been major research topics due to the opportunities it presents to organizations and the reduction in environmental conservation. According to Brook et al (2012), green information systems holds greater potentials in changing the computing systems in the country as compared to generalized green information technologies. This is due to the wide area of computing handled within the green information systems auspice as compared to green information technologies. Green information technologies seek to develop computing devices that reduce the energy consumption (Hassan, Molla & Cooper, 2012). Green information systems seek to address specific goals within the manufacturing processes with an aim of ensuring sustainability. Different companies develop and adopt diverse practices which guide the manufacturing processes with an aim of producing environmental friendly computing devices. The eco-goals of companies that form part of the green information systems program guides the production processes (Brooks, Wang & Sarker, 2012). Factors driving the adoption of green computing A number of environmental, economic and business related factors has driven the development of green computing, these have created the need for the adoption of systems that not only conserve energy by increase sustainability within the corporations. Research articles thus examined have revealed a number of factors, which have acted as the driving force for the adoption of the green information systems and technology. Harmon and Auseklis (2010) highlighted some of the driving factories behind the development of green computing and its increased adoption by corporate across the globe. One of the factors that have necessitated the adoption of green computing is the increased growth of the internet and its current applications in various spheres of life. Corporate and individuals today over rely on electronic data, which has significantly increased the pressures on the data centers. This thus increases the need for the expansion of the data centers to serve the increasing demands worldwide (Melville, 2010). Internet communication and the computerization of business to adopt the web 2.0 systems have replaced the traditional telecommunication channels across the globe. Current widespread applications of the internet include online video gaming, communications and video conferencing, the development of social networks and the increase in video and music downloads. The Sarbanes-Oxley act has also increased the pressure placed on the available data centers due to the need for organizations to retain their electronic records. All these factors have increased the pressure on the available data centers making it imperative to adopt green information systems, which are not just sustainable, but saves significant amount of energy (Jenkin, Webster & McCone, 2011). The demand for more servers had also increased the need for organizations to adopt the greening technologies to save from the extra costs of operations arising from the installation of more power consuming processors whose memory capacity can serve the current demand. More server density because of increased data centers has been attributed to overheating within these systems. Most servers installed to serve the high data center capacity may require over 1.5 watts for successful cooling (Hassan, Molla & Cooper, 2012). The increasing energy costs occasioned by the increase in the prices of fuel have made it imperative for organizations to develop and implement sustainable and efficient energy systems. This is has also been increased by the increased pressures placed on the available data centers which serves a large number of users. Data centers have high powering and cooling needs which results into increased cost when operating large data centers. To reduce the overall cost of operations, the development of green information systems is thus important as it enables organizations to reduce their costs of operations (Butler, 2010). Finally, the increased awareness that has been created on the impacts of information technology has also resulting into increased need for the adoption of energy efficient and sustainable systems. The amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere, which increases the case of global warming, has been shown to be proportional to the energy used by the different information systems. By 20078, the world had over 44 million servers to serve all the data and internet needs of the corporate and individuals. This consumed over 0.5% of the total electricity worldwide. This has resulted into increased global awareness on the environmental impacts of information systems. The need for environmental friendly, efficient and more sustainable systems thus propelled the development of green computing in different parts of the globe (Mittal & Kaur, 2013). Benefits of green computing Based on the current research on green computing and its application, a number of literatures have extensively highlighted some of the benefits of this new development to the economy and the society. One of the major benefits of green computing as identified by Kurp (2008) in brooks et al (2012) is its ability to reduce significantly he data centres energy utilization. This has been attributed to the decreased cost of computing operations especially within centers that manage high volume of data. This also significantly enables computing to comply with international treaties on the use of renewable energy and the development of energy efficient systems (Chou & Chou, 2012). Carbon emission has formed a significant part of discussions on climate change and global warming. As a result, the development of green computing presents an opportunity for organizations to adopt energy efficient computing systems. Such systems significantly reduce energy consumption as has been discovered by Dell Company. The low energy consumptions of green computing also results into significant drop on the expenditure incurred by companies such as Dell and Vista Print. A study conducted in information technologies companies in Europe has also demonstrated that companies that have adopted green computing have a significantly increased profit margin by over 2%. The economic significance of green computing was first recognized during the world economic forum that took place in 2006 in Davos, Switzerland. With green computing, the development of clouding systems has been significantly affected resulting into significant change in energy consumer. With cloud computing, the replacement of regular servers and adoption of virtual servers is significantly increased. This creates an avenue for significant saving of total energy consumed by companies. Cloud computing as part of the green information systems can be applied by organizations that practice large scale data storage activities, network their internal activities and operate on a single operating system platform (Dao, Langella, & Carbo, 2011). The process of developing a computer hardware from scratch is much more expensive, time consuming and environmental unfriendly. With the development of green computing, companies can today recycle computer hardware thus resulting into significant reduction in the production cost and energy consumed. With green technology, e-waste and other computer waste are recycled and reused in the assembly of new electronic devices thus reducing the environmental pressures caused by e-waste (Mittal & Kaur, 2013). Murugesan (2008) highlighted some of the ways that green information technology can be used to create environmental sustainability in different organizations. Green information systems support and provide advantages to other environmental initiatives currently adopted by organizations. It thus provides basis for the development of innovative modeling and simulation tools that are necessary for the development of environmental friendly systems. Green IT provides the rationale for the development of software tools that can analyze, model and simulate environmental impacts of technology. This can assist in the development of mitigation measures such as the development of green information systems (Murugesan, 2008). The ability of organizations to manage the ecological stress resulting from their operations is beneficial in developing environmental friendly and sustainable systems. This can only be possible using information technology to develop eco-management approaches that can monitor carbon emission and the impact on the environment (Ijab et al, 2010). Challenges and ethical issues affecting green computing The process of moving from old technological applications to the development of green computing systems has brought a number of benefits and challenges to the computing world. Some of the challenges of going green in information technology arises from the ethical issues that the processes of greening information technology creates (Molla & Abareshi, 2013). The analysis of the literature on the challenges and ethical dilemmas brought about by the greening process thus provides a complete analysis of green information technology and information systems (Murugesan, 2008). The development of clouding systems as a new way of networking and part of the greening processes has created a number of questions. Before I analyze the ethical dilemmas and challenges brought about by this new advancement, it is worth mentioning that clouding as part of green information systems has created enhanced sustainability in computing. Sustainability has been identified as one of the main pillars of the development of greening information systems to the decreased energy consumption by such computer devices (Molla & Cooper, 2009). Despite the highlighted benefits of the clouding systems, a number of literatures have highlighted pertinent questions on both its impact on climate change and human rights thus resulting ethical angle of considerations. Clouding systems has been shown to demand a swelling energy footprint due to the high number of data centers that it hosts virtually (Ijab et al, 2010). Despite the progress made by a number of electronic companies to adopt the green computing resolutions and try developing products that reduce energy consumption, tricks have been employed to bypass some of the requirements. These corporations, big or small, document their efforts to adopt green information systems and even use the energy star mark in their devices even when it is not energy efficient. Consumers are thus deceived into buying products with the energy star mark that not in the real sense efficient in their energy consumption processes. This thus raises moral and ethical questions on the corporate responsibilities of the companies that deceive their consumers because of the current craze to adopt green technologies (Harmon & Auskelis, 2009). Green computing aims at reducing the power needs of different computer systems leading to efficiency and sustainability of the information systems. However, this desire may lead to the development of underpowered computer systems, which may not be able to withstand the current pressures. This can lead to significant computer breakdown and server or connection breakdowns resulting from low power transmissions and usage. Green computers are also considered as some of the most expensive computer systems across the globe. When Apple Inc adopted green computing in the production of their Mac books and Mac book Pros, the devices were charged at significantly higher price as compared to other devices. This has been attributed to the low embrace of green computing by many individual and business uses across the globe. Awareness of green information technology/systems Before companies can adopt the use of green technologies in their production systems, awareness must be created to enable them understand the benefits of green information technologies. A number of articles have provided a clear understanding of the need for awareness and its potential benefits to both the companies and to the environment. According to Chou and Chou (2012), the need to develop environmental friendly products has increased in almost all quarters on the economy. The large business corporations, private companies, governmental departments and other nongovernmental organizations strive to adopt measures of reducing environmental destructions (Ijab et al, 2010). Thus, green information systems can only be felt in different parts of the economy if its existence, impacts and benefits are made known through awareness creation. Organizations today use different computing systems to enable them manage their operations efficiently thus making it important for such organizations to understand the existence of green computing, its benefits and applications. Awareness can be created through highlighting the economic and environmental benefits that accrue from continued application of green information systems. Green IT reduces the operation cost of companies, which include the expenses incurred from IT operating and capital expenses, reduced electricity costs and an improved public image due to the environmental consciousness created (Ijab et al, 2010). Mola et al (2009) highlighted some of the barriers met by organizations while moving towards the implementation of green information technology. Despite the economic payoff achieved through the adoption of green information technologies, many organizations still fail to adopt it fully. One major barrier to the implementation of green IT is the formulation of the IS budget which does not include the energy cost of a data center. This makes it difficult to estimate adequately and effectively the financial value of the green information systems adopted by an organization. It is also difficult for companies using rental office spaces to develop proper environmental practices, which border on the adoption of green information systems (Agarwal & Nath, 2013). This is due to the lack of considerations by the office owner, who may not design the office with energy reduction and efficiency of the systems in mind. Green computing practices in businesses Green technology has provided an avenue for business to change their performance and improve their productivity through the adoption of better practices and approaches. In this section of the paper, an analysis of the practices of green technology will be conducted in reference to the available literatures on green information systems. These practices include sustainability advantage created by green computing and the environmental restoration practices adopted by computer and technology companies. Curry et al (2012) highlighted the benefits of green computing in enhancing sustainability, an approach that increases the performance and overall productivity of the business. Sustainability affects the introduction of new products into the market, government compliance, the cost stabilization processes and the reputation of the organization. Despite the tremendous significance of sustainability in a business, the introduction of this practice into business does not require much business input and capital. Information and communication is one of the approaches currently used to enhance sustainability in a business and this has been revolutionized with the growth in green information systems and technology (Molla, 2012). Sustainability aims to reduce the operational cost of business by reducing the energy consumption of a business. It also reduces the carbon emissions classified under a particular business thus making the company entitled to carbon credits and other advantage benefits. The development of proper sustainable information technology practices in any organization is guided by four different postures, which enables a business to reduce both its energy expenditures, carbon emissions and the greenhouse effect contribution. The cost center is the first posture of managing and developing sustainability in a business through the introduction of green information systems. It seeks to offer efficient ways of managing the direct cost accrued from the application of computer information systems and how such benefits the business. The service posture is the second avenue for the introduction of sustainable business practices in line with green computing and information systems. It seeks to provide steps through which a business can adopt sustainable information technological practices and how such affects service delivery in the business (Curry et al, 2012). The benefits of sustainability as a results of proper green computing practices has been demonstrated by Intel Inc, a computing company in the united states that manufacture microchips for computers and most recently, phones. The company develops approaches which ensure proper information technology sustainability through developing environmental conservation approaches (Molla, 2012). Diane Bryant, the CEO of the company established the information technology sustainable program that it used as an investment posture to enable the business deliver on its goals and strategic plans. In achieving these objectives, the adoption of green computing has enabled the company to increase environmental conservation awareness through information technology approaches (Ozturk et al, 2011). As a company that produces microchips for other companies in the country and beyond, Intel adopted sustainable information, technology approaches to enable it reduce its carbon footprint through the consolidation of data centers. Through this approach, the company chip production has significantly doubled with no significant increase in the energy consumed by the chips. This has also decreased the operational cost and the energy expenditure of the company thus enabling it to achieve its sustainability desires and dreams (Kuo & Dick, 2009). According the low coined by Moore in which he stated that computer processing speed doubles, the energy consumption of the microchips produced by Intel should increase energy consumption. This is however not happening at the company due to their sustainability program as envisioned by their CEO. Newer servers and laptops produced by the companies are thus using less energy as compared to how it would have occurred if Moore’s law was to apply without the adoption of sustainable green information systems (Molla, 2012). Impacts of green computing With the advances in technological applications in different parts of organization management, the introduction of green computing and its sustainability visions has created a number of impacts that directly affect the success of a business. In this section, the available research on the impacts of green computing to different sectors of the economy will be analyzed in line with the practices discussed early. Virtualization enables a company to save the costs of procuring both networking hardware and software though the creation of a virtual system that operates in a similar physical manner (Ozturk et al, 2011). This has resulted into reduced cost of operations for businesses that have adopted the much cheaper and more efficient virtual networking and cabling systems. According to Molla and Abareshi (2012), the process of improving employee morale and motivation can be improved through the adoption of sustainable programs like green information systems. The motives of the organization towards contributing significantly on the fight against environmental destruction through the adoption of green information systems demonstrate the clear motives of a business. This increase the motivation of the employee in general thus making it much easier for the business to perform as expected. Application of eco-sustainable information technology practices demonstrates an organizations desire and belief in the adoption of better systems, which are both efficient, and has fewer impacts on the environment (Harmon & Auskelis, 2009). This illustrates the high motivation witnessed among the employees at Intel, a company that has made it mandatory to adopt information technology sustainable practices like green information systems (Ozturk et al, 2011). The advances made in the development of interactive internet systems have led to the development of interactive web systems known as the web 2.0 systems. This, according to Agarwal and Nath (2013), has improved sustainability and increased energy efficiency and sustainability in organizations. Enterprise 2.0 and web 2.0 uses system applications which are virtual, a process that is adopted from the visions of green information systems. This increases its ability to lower the level of carbon emission into the atmosphere and improve the overall performance and productivity of a business (Molla, 2012). Conclusion The adoption of green information systems and information has been applauded by a number of computer scholars who attribute it to the increased efficiency and sustainability in organizations. The need to reduce the overall operational and production cost motivates different organizations to adopt more efficient and cost effective systems. Such a system must be able to reduce the greenhouse gas effect and the carbon emissions produced by the company thus making it qualify to receive carbon credits. As captured by activities of Intel Inc, green computing improves the sustainability desires of an organization and thus makes it much cheaper to operate (Mines, 2008). Intel has introduced new microchips, which are used by other electronic companies, but whose energy consumption is much lower compared to others. This has worked towards enabling the business to achieve its business sustainability dream and improve its profit and market control base. 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