For every £1 spent on electricity powering IT and office equipment in an organisation, 32p is wasted, according to IBM. The computer manufacturer is urging public sector organisations to scrutinise the energy efficiency of IT equipment as a way to cut public spending dramatically.
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An IBM white paper states: "40% of an average business's total energy bill is eaten up by IT and information systems equipment. Changing the underlying configuration and design of key devices could lead to substantial savings."
According to IBM, datacentres usually consume approximately 40% of IT energy. However 60% of IT's energy footprint is taken up by what IBM calls the distributed environment. This covers everything from fax machines and photocopiers to mobile working equipment and voice communications.
IBM estimates voice consumes over 25% of total IT energy consumption in a typical business. IBM calculates the cost of this portion of the IT energy footprint could easily be cut by 20%, with an increase in datacentre efficiency doing the same again.
Research conducted by IBM UK has found that the total energy consumed by distributed IT equipment (desktop computers, laptops, printers, LANs, copiers and other office equipment) ranges between 45% to 92% of total IT electrical power.
The potential savings could be realised by both private and public sector organisations.