IT managers will be under pressure to extend product life cycles as the concept of “total carbon cost of ownership” becomes more widespread, said IDC.
In a survey released Monday, the analyst firm said almost a third (30.1 per cent) of IT executives surveyed said that awareness of IT supplier’s green credentials was of little importance. However, a further 27.4 per cent said they would like to understand the green attitudes of their suppliers.
The survey, which interviewed 854 IT professionals, also revealed that 28.6 per cent of IT managers saw green technology as a “moral obligation,” and 23.8 percent said it was the responsibility of IT suppliers. Further, 12.2 percent saw the implementation of green technology, under corporate social responsibility agenda, as a competitive advantage.
Martin Hingley, chief research officer at IDC EMEA, said traditional cost of ownership models will change over the next few years as environmental concerns rise up the corporate agenda. Typically, the technology industry has shorter product life cycles. Moore’s Law, which states that transistor density will double every 18 months at the same price, has caused products to become obsolete every few years. Similarly, storage systems cease to be financially viable after five years, as the running costs outweigh the cost efficiency of buying new systems at that time.
But IT managers and vendors will be pressured to increase product life cycles, as part of their green efforts to reduce the carbon emitted in product manufacture.
When it comes to the environment, IDC said vendors are marketing themselves as part of the solution, not part of the problem. However green solutions that use less power could also drive up the cost of technology, Hingley warned.
