CIOs going eco with green IT, says research

Green is the new black for CIOs as environmental issues shoot to the top of the IT agenda. Three-quarters of CIOs say eco-friendly computing is an important part of their IT strategy, with a further 15 per cent saying it's their top priority, according to a report by analyst Datamonitor.

One in five of the 245 CIOs surveyed said their firm has incorporated a green IT agenda into their business strategy, with a further third set to do so within the next two years.

Turning green increasingly makes sense to businesses faced with shrinking budgets, sprawling infrastructure footprints and increased waste disposal regulations, the report says. Vamshi Mokshagundam, technology analyst at Datamonitor, said green IT offers significant cost savings, increased flexibility and regulatory compliance.

"Green IT is now being driven as much by an element of business strategy as by a sense of corporate social responsibility," he said. "It is only recently that companies have begun incorporating green IT in their core business strategy."

The report, 2008 Trends to Watch: Green IT, predicts that use of virtualisation, IT recycling schemes, software as a service and low-carbon technologies will continue to grow.