Gartner Outlines Three Steps to Reduce Network Environmental Footprint

Egham, UK, December 13, 2007 — The business network can be a significant contributor to an organisation’s total environmental footprint. Gartner advises organisations that are looking to reduce their network environmental footprint to divide the network analysis into three steps: determining how much networking is needed; minimising the number of devices and layers and reducing power consumption of the devices themselves.

“Unlike client computing, where significant footprint reduction can arise from simply turning off devices when they are not in use, the network needs to be ‘always on’ regardless of its utilisation,” said Neil Rickard, research vice-president Gartner. “As organisations can’t turn their network off to reduce their environmental footprint, they must take simple steps to reduce it.”

Gartner defines environmental footprint as the combination of the energy consumed by the equipment, the environmental impact of its production and the impact of its disposal.

Gartner has outlined three steps that can help organisations reduce their network environmental footprint:

1. Don’t overbuy
   Gartner advises organisations not to let themselves be influenced by vendors into buying networking technologies they don’t require ‘just in case’ or just to protect ‘use it or loose it’ budget cycles. However adding additional network functionality can sometimes reduce environmental impact elsewhere in IT.
2. Minimise the number of layers and devices
   The blind application of ‘established design practices’ in networking can result in the over layering of devices and subsequent performance bottlenecks.  Technological advances in many areas mean that the mountains of networking boxes in most networks today can be collapsed and replaced with a far smaller number of devices.
3. Consider power consumption of networking devices during product selection
   In addition to making power efficiency one of the new product selection criteria, power efficiency can become a factor in decisions regarding the replacement of aging network equipment.  In the longer term Gartner expects to see the evolution of new more energy efficient networking technologies such as ‘Energy Efficient Ethernet’.

“By following these three steps organisations will be able to minimise the environmental impact of their business networks without negatively affecting the organisation’s network functionality,” said Mr Rickard.  “However, this needs to be part of an ongoing network strategy, not just performed in isolation as a one-off.”

This report is part of a special report on “green IT” that examines the issue of "green IT," predicts how it will evolve and recommends how IT organisations should respond. More information is available in the Gartner report “Green IT: The New Industry Shock Wave”.

 

Contact:


Holly Stevens
Gartner
+44 0 1784 267412
holly.stevens@gartner.com


About Gartner:
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is the indispensable partner to 60,000 clients in 10,000 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants in 80 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.