The aim of reducing the environmental impact of ICT has been well documented by both central and local government. Recent reports into this issues have been published by the Central Office, “Greening ICT” and the Local Government Association. The LGA stated that procurement policies should:

“Every council should adopt a ‘no increase in carbon’ policy for significant procurement and investment decisions. The goal should be that each purchase and investment decision should achieve a carbon impact less than the existing/replaced product or service”

Source: Local Government Association - a climate of change final report of the LGA climate change commission November 2007

Server Based Computing and Virtualisation technology is ‘the’ way to green your local authorities ICT.

As Server Based Computing utilises Thin Clients, these are much smaller than traditional PC’s, the associated manufacturing, packaging and transport costs, are much less than when compared to a PC.

And the savings don’t stop once the Thin Clients are installed. A Thin Client device will use approximately 10% of the power needed to run a standard PC, the ongoing cost savings, and reduction electricity usage is incredible.

With no moving parts, such as fans and hard drives, there are fewer things that can go wrong, thereby improving reliability, and meaning fewer trips to the desk by IT support staff.

The other benefit of the Thin Client having no moving parts is that the units produce a lot less heat. The average PC converts roughly 50% of its electricity to heat, which then means air conditioning is required to help cooling, further increasing costs and the associated impact on the environment.

Improved reliability also means an increase in the life of the units - the average life span of a Thin Client device is five to seven years, compared to a 3 to 5 year life of a PC.

And when it is time finally time for replacement, there are less materials that need to be recycled.

One council that has been at the forefront of introducing Server Based Computing has been Hampshire County Council. They have stated that they save the equivalent power of 180 homes per year, and generate cost savings of over £1m per year by implementing a Server Based Computing using Thin Clients.