Global Warming and the Channel

I was wrapped in green at the end of January.

In addition to editing an in-depth story about eco-friendly business opportunities for the channel, every time I opened my Google News page, the top story was about a high-profile report on global warming. And it just so happened that I had watched Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” documentary over the weekend.

The story on channel opportunities will run in the next issue of eWEEK Strategic Partner, scheduled for publication on Feb. 26. I highly recommend that anyone working in the IT channel today read this story, for it will give you practical ideas on how to use new technology to make your customers’ computing environments more eco-friendly.

For years, whether the earth is warming as a result of human activity has been disputed by people who have a vested interest in keeping the status quo. Oil and coal interests have pulled their campaign-funding strings in Washington to contribute to paralysis in addressing the problem.

Bogus science backed by the White House has dismissed sound conclusions by a preponderance of scientists who say that not only is the earth warming as a result of human activity, it is doing so at an alarming rate.

The only chance to slow down this climate change will require a concerted effort by governments and industry to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. But it’s been tough to overcome the belief that going green will hurt the economy. Never mind that the opposite actually is the case. And technology plays an important role.

3PARdata launches a “green storage” initiative. Click here to read more.

Developments in wind-fueled energy and photovoltaic technology are making clean energy sources more affordable, and therefore, more viable options for reducing our dependence on power plants fueled by coal or oil. Not only are these developments encouraging to the advocates of zero-emissions energy, but they also spell good news for investors as the number of publicly traded solar and wind companies increases.

In the IT world, hardware vendors are working to reduce energy consumption. Chip makers are designing processors that consume less energy, and server and storage vendors have started making products that take it easier on the power grid.

Click here to view exclusive channel research from Amazon Consulting.

Software companies too are answering the call for the need to conserve energy, developing applications that help IT administrators manage power consumption. This of course presents channel companies with an opportunity to sell power management as a service.

Some solution providers already have caught on, turning green technology into greenbacks.

These providers are finding that the way to persuade customers of the wisdom of going green is to make a compelling case for reducing their energy costs. It’s a simple proposition: Newer equipment that consumes less power translates to lower energy bills.

Making the case to go green by appealing to the corporate cost-cutting mind-set is a message that customers understand. So while users may start to go green for reasons of the pocketbook, they will nevertheless contribute to the desperately needed efforts to keep energy consumption under control.

It’s a means to an end, and solution providers are fortunate to find themselves in the role of facilitator.

Pedro Pereira is editor of eWEEK Strategic Partner. He can be reached at ppereira@ziffdavis.com.