Update on the SUSTE-TECH project.

To date, the SUSTE-TECH project has recruited 15 institutions. It has received

10 completed tools with 14 accompanying Action Plans from 7 Y&H, 3 Welsh and 5 South West FHE institutions. The participants are a mixture of 10 HE & 4 FE institutions with one participant offering both HE and FE courses.

The 10 Suste-IT tool results indicated that Servers, PC’s and Networks  are the main consumers of ICT related energy followed by Imaging and to lesser extent : HPC’s, Telephones and VC equipment. 

Each of the institutions, regardless of size, are experiencing similar ICT related energy use problems and are choosing to avail of the same types of  sustainable solutions.

11 institutions are decommissioning, virtualising, or consolidating their servers or even moving servers off site altogether.

14 institutions are tackling their PC & monitor energy consumption by replacing them with Thin Client technology, installing PC power down, virtualizing their desktops and procuring for greener computers.

In terms of reducing paper use, 7 institutions are either consolidating to MFD’s,  introducing charged or code printing or  setting their printers to print double sided by default.

Just 2 institutions are tackling their networks and just one institution has stated they intend on increasing their use of VC and will be addressing their IP phone use to reduce their overall carbon footprint.

However, each of the participating institutions are implementing a “general” energy management system. They are either;

·        automating the powerdown or switch off of their various types of ICT equipment,

·        are creating awareness of campus wide energy use,

·        recycling old ICT equipment,

·        procuring for greener equipment,

·        auditing and consolidating all ICT equipment thus establishing a baseline of how much equipment is in operation and what their combined power usage is.

 In short, they are working towards lowering ICT running costs & reducing waste.

While here has been significant improvement in the past 5 years, there is still huge scope for improvement, with many of the changes being simple “quick wins” that require minimal capital costs.

Cloud Computing

I’ve just finished reading A brief Guide to Cloud Computing by Christopher Barnatt. For someone whose background is in environmental sustainability (as oppose to IT), I found the book to be very well written and informative. This straight talking author's experience in all things computer related is extensive and he is an advocate of the use of the cloud. He believes that it’s the way of the future and for what its worth, I’m incline to agree.

Its subtitle, An essential guide to the next computing revolution, could not be more apt as the cloud has so much to offer in terms of access to the best software, platforms and applications as well as the storage of data and information.

 

From a sustainable point of view the cloud is, in my opinion, the best option for organisations wishing to reduce their data centre’s overall running costs.

The cloud eliminates the need for software CD’s, (and the layers of packaging that accompanies them), transport when purchasing or delivering them and disposal of the plastic discs once used.

Rob Bristow, programme manager of JISC’s Greening if ICT programme wrote in his blog in March 2010 that “There is some skepticism about the environmental benefits (of using the cloud), with many seeing the carbon load being shifted rather than reduced”. In reality it’s doing both. The environmental impact of moving into the cloud is much smaller regardless of which angle its examined from simply because fewer consumables are required.

From an energy savings standpoint, institutions infrastructures can run more efficiently when being delivered in the cloud, thus reducing overall running costs & CO₂ emissions and saving on space (a valuable commodity in FHE’s today).

However, despite reports of massive savings, at a recent Y&H SUSTE-TECH project participants meeting, I asked some of the participants (whose areas of expertise is in ICT as oppose to sustainability) what they thought of moving into the cloud.  I was surprised to receive a less than enthusiastic response.

I can understand why security is a concern, but if rigorous security measures are put in place by cloud service providers to prevent against hacking and ensure secure storage of data, then surely that data is safer than were it being stored on an institutions system? 

Has research been carried out to determine if hacking into a university’s network (or any large organisation for that matter) and accessing top secret files was easier than doing the same to data being stored in the cloud? If so what did the results indicate?  On a more general level has sufficient research been carried out to conclusively determine that data and information is in fact, less safe in the cloud?

JISC are currently funding projects to examine those concerns, the results of which should prove invaluable  to  iunstitutions considering moving into the cloud: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/researchinfrastructure/usingcloudcomp.aspx

I, for one, think the cloud is the way of the future. To steal Rob Bristow’s saying (who borrowed it from Nicholas Carr) “not everything will move into the cloud but eventually the cloud will move into everything”, says it all.

Unfortunately until this happens we remain using the traditional methods of sending and storing data, underutilising our hardware, wasting energy, creating CO₂ unnecessarily and wasting space.

EAUC and JISC practicing what they preach

The EAUC Annual Conference

Nobody can say the EAUC and JISC don’t practice what they preach.

Geoff Constable from the University of  Aberystwyth will be presenting at the 2011 EAUC Annual conference that’s taking place at the University of York from April 11^th -13^th 2011. Geoff, who will be unable to travel to York for the event, will be presenting on the benefits of Video Conferencing and reporting on the results of the project he’s just completed entitled “How Green was my Video Conference” ? .. via Video Conference.  Delegates will be able to experience first hand what it is they are learning about.  While Geoff may miss out on attending the various workshops at the conference, delegates will not be missing out on a live VC experience.

The NBT..

Following on from yesterday's blog regarding what the NBT might be, perhaps it was on display  at the
2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas last week.

Check out the pics on  http://www.cesweb.org/

Whats the NBT in ICT

What’s the next big thing (NBT) in ICT ?

At a recent LUEG Green ICT event there was discussion at the lunch table about what the “next big thing” might be in ICT. As we reminisced about our earliest communication technology experience we laughed about how amazing we thought e mailing was when it first became mainstream.

I still remember back in 1987 using a “wireless  portable phone” for the first time that allowed me to call anyone from anywhere. Eventhough it was the size of a brick, I thought “imagine if all your friends and family had one, you could just call them anytime from anywhere, never having to rely on just bumping into them.

Now that in 2011, we can access e mail from our phones and are contactable 24/7 by devices that are so small they can fit in your to pocket, what is the next big thing  in ICT, how long do we have to wait for is launch and more importantly how will it impact our lives ?  

Information and Data on ICT Equipment

I'm just wondering how institutions (or organisation of any kind) are expected to make the most sustainable informed decision when purchasing ICT equipment, when almost none exists. Whilst researching for data and information pertaining to the Ecological Footprint of any category of ICT equipment, I have found none.
No generic formula exists and no manufacturer seems to be fully aware of where the parts of their equipment come from or indeed how they've been made, just where and how they have been assembled. Perhaps its time some solid research was done on the issue.