EMA Says U.S. Government Could Save $1 Billion Annually With Improved Desktop Power Management Practices

New EMA research reveals that the government is the least energy efficient of any industry

BOULDER, Colo. Dec. 9, 2008 –Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), (www.www.enterprisemanagement.com), a leading IT management research and consulting firm, today announced the availability of a new EMA Advisory Note titled, “U.S. Government Wastes $1 Billion Annually on Poor Desktop Power Management Practices.” The data for this advisory note was compiled as part of an extensive primary research project performed by EMA on quantifying the “True Value of Green IT” and specifically addresses the varying state of desktop power management practices within a range of industries. The study reveals that the U.S. government currently wastes as much as $1 billion each year due to poor desktop power management practices. According to EMA, if the federal government utilized the same practices as high technology organizations, it could drastically reduce the electrical costs to power more than 6.7 million PC workstations.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the federal government is the largest energy consumer in the nation. The cost of powering a single desktop in government jobs is $266.58 each year. This may not seem like a lot, but the U.S. federal government alone has an install base of 6.7 million workstations. The resulting cost could reach $1.7 billion in annual power costs. Other industries that have focused on cutting back on energy, such as the high-tech industry, see a much lower annual powering cost of about $121.29 annually per desktop. This recent EMA research indicates that this huge power savings is a direct result of better system power consumption practices. For example, an estimated 48 percent of government desktop systems were kept on during non-work hours compared to 19 percent in high technology organizations.

“Several energy efficient Green IT Solutions are available and many more powerful deployments are in the development stage.” said Steve Brasen, EMA analyst and leader of the study, “Green IT solutions are designed to be simple for both implementation and management, and have proven to be successful in several industries, especially in the high-tech sector.”

The problem in cutting energy costs begins when government institutions create their budget. They estimate operational costs, based on past consumption and expected growth. This number is then set aside from the overall budget as an operational necessity. The result leaves little to no incentive to reduce costs and streamline operations. Other enterprises have greater motivation to cut costs as a way to improve overall profitability.  EMA believes, however, that the renewed interest in reducing the environmental impacts associated with excessive power consumption helps create a political climate more open to achieving greater IT efficiency. EMA also believes that Green IT solutions will be increasingly in demand, as regulatory compliance initiatives are increased to meet the demands for saving energy and money.

To purchase a copy of this advisory note visit: http://www.www.enterprisemanagement.com/research/asset.php?id=1004

The complete EMA research paper, “The True Value of Green IT,” is available at: http://www.www.enterprisemanagement.com/research/asset.php?id=945


About Enterprise Management Associates
Founded in 1996, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) is a leading industry analyst and consulting firm dedicated to the IT management market. The firm provides IT vendors and enterprise IT professionals with objective insight into the real-world business value of long-established and emerging technologies, ranging from security, storage and IT Service Management (ITSM) to the Configuration Management Database (CMDB), virtualization and service-oriented architecture (SOA). Even with its rapid growth, EMA has never lost sight of the client, and continues to offer personalized support and convenient access to its analysts. For more information on the firm’s extensive library of IT management research, free online IT Management Solutions Center and IT consulting offerings, visit www.www.enterprisemanagement.com.