IT Sustainability Role

Stewardship and Governance of Model

IBM and utility consortium choose the Software Engineering Institute at CMU to govern the advancement of the maturity model for smart grids. Think SEI's CMMI for the electrical grid. ...

... "The software development industry is a prime example of how maturity models have moved entire industries forward, said Guido Bartels, General Manager, Global Energy & Utilities Industry at IBM. We selected SEI because of its demonstrated success in providing frameworks that enhance business and technical processes, security, resiliency and interoperability --- all critical elements in responding to opportunities driving the sustainable supply and use of energy essential today. " ...

Via Carnegie Mellon SEI: Smart Grid Maturity Model

Sleep When Idle

Microsoft focuses some of its investment on energy efficiency in the data center. Reducing power consumption during server idle periods is a research topic. Microsoft Research on efficient datacenters: "selectively putting idle servers into a low-power state ... " ...

... "As of today, turning servers off and on automatically is difficult to do, but with growing interest in environmental sustainability and a need to reduce rising energy costs, more people and businesses are motivated to find and develop solutions that work. " ...

Via Microsoft: Sustainable Computing

Green Networks and Devices

Devices connected to networks are a significant source of energy inefficiency. Cisco targets energy monitoring and building management through its intelligent network offering. Sustainable IT needs to look beyond the data center. ...

... "Cisco EnergyWise is part of the company's technology roadmap for changing the value-chain of information technology (IT) by placing the intelligent network squarely at the center of how companies reduce greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions across their entire organization. " ...

Via Cisco: Green Network

Scalable Green Clouds

Some interesting points in the following article re ... analogy of on-premise computing with on-site power generation, a scalability success story with cloud computing, and alignment of IT sustainability goals with future cloud computing models. ...

... "Energy efficiency, as well as reliability and scalability, ought to be factors in your cloud computing migration strategies. " ...

Via InformationWeek: Cloud / Electric Generator

Improving Sales Process

Insights into bringing discipline and predictability to the sales process, an area where IT systems struggle to deliver sustainable value. Just like a project needs controls, so too does the selling process. ...

... "After improving their qualification criteria, one company dramatically improved their close ratio. After a client's salespeople actually scored their prospects using their qualification criteria, I hired a statistician to analyze it. The results were amazing. When we got salespeople at another company to change the sequence they used for demos and proposals, sales costs went town, close ratios went up. " ...

Via Six Sigma Selling: Production Control for Sales

Collaborative Sustainability

SAP takes a collaborative approach to developing its strategies for sustainability, as it publishes its first update on the topic. ...

... "The first challenge in preparing this report was to decide what exactly to report on. It is not so obvious for a software company on the basis of risk alone. But once we started to engage with stakeholders over the past 18 months or so it became really clear that what our stakeholders are most interested in is the solutions SAP can provide to other businesses to become more sustainable. " ...

Via SAP Sustainability Blog: First Report

Technology Lifecycle

In business cases, we consider the one-time project costs and the recurring impact on operating budgets. With green computing on our agenda, a lifecycle perspective is needed for technology investments. We have to manage the disposition of those assets when decommissioned, which is long after the project is over. Dell's sustainability leader shares his thoughts. ...

... "Energy efficiency is just one component. They're also asking about materials and end of life. Commercial customers put asset tags on these machines, so they want to know that the materials can be recycled properly ... " ...

Via Forbes: Green Machine

IT Vendor Green Ranking

ABI Research did nice job with this green vendor ranking, looking for the vendors to "eat their own dog food" by implementing sustainable practices internally as well as offering green products as services. HP edges out the competition, but it is good to see the large vendors making strong moves in this area. ...

... "Hewlett-Packard emerged as the winner in ABI Research’s Innovation category, which measures how green a vendor’s products are. It was a very close contest because of the extensive efforts both IBM and Cisco have been making in this market. " ...

Via ABI Research: The Greenness of Data Center Equipment Vendors

The Project Design Task

Most of our projects have some type of design task in them. But what is an exceptional design? Here are some principles to anchor your thoughts. Think - usable, resilient, conscientious (or sustainable). Read on. ...

... "The best designs influence and enhance many aspects of our lives through interaction with those products/services - from our buying experience, to the delivery and packaging, to installation and use, to other products/services that complement it, to customer support and maintenance, all the way through end-of-life and disposal. " ...

Via KiteTail: Principles of Good Design

Virtual is Green

Managing a project virtually? Team dispersed globally? Travelling less? Team wearing pajamas and fuzzy slippers, yet project remains on-schedule? Using collaborative tools, such as team workspaces, teleconferences, virtual whiteboards, instant messaging, web seminars, etc.? You are enabling sustainability in your enterprise. Do this across your project portfolio and there is a tangible payback. ...

... "Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5 for collaboration that offers green benefits for end users and IT departments by enabling significant reductions in travel and commuting. " ...

Via : Software for a Greener World

Innovation Culture of Unstructured Structure

Ideas on champion-ing sustainable innovation, include creating a burning platform to catalyze and help your people embrace the new culture. ...

... "Unfortunately, when the addiction to systems and structures rules the day, an organization's quest for a culture of innovation all too often degenerates into nothing much more than a cult of innovation. " ...

Via Idea Champions: INSIDE JOB

IT Sustainability Role

IT has a role to play in an enterprise's sustainability program, from power consumption to the appropriate utilization of the computing assets. Sustainable business is IT's business. ...

... "The increasing energy requirements of data storage can no longer be ignored by the IT manager. The growing amount of uncontrolled storage cannot be allowed to carry on indefinitely. " ...

Via CRM Today: Sustainability for IT Management

Sustainability 101: How Things REALLY work

Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the amazing book, Made to Stick (which Garry Booker blogged about here a while back) run an equally amazing blog site.

Recently, they posted a link to a fascinating (and "sticky") video that's been circling the web, about sustainability. The video is titled "The Story of Stuff" and is well worth spending the 20 minutes watching (as zillions of others have done). You can tab through the various sections, each representing a stage in the production process.

Check it out...

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Project Management Opportunity to Differentiate

Tata shares results of IT project performance survey and the results aren't flattering for the info tech profession. This consistent trend of non-performance offers companies that perform well to differentiate from the pack --- and, maybe, even achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. ...

... "Yet despite these worrying levels of failure to deliver, 43% of organisations say that their business managers and the Board accept problems as the norm. This attitude is especially common in Europe (44%) and AsiaPac (48%). Despite the general poor performance of IT projects globally, such results do not evoke a sharp reaction from management. " ...

IT Project Underperformance is the Norm

Enterprise Architecture Comes to Forefront

David Linthicum, an author and respected expert on integration, shares thoughts on the importance of a well-planned enterprise architecture and leveraging architects to develop a sustainable roadmap. ...

... "If investors hold management accountable for accounting irregularities and missed sales, then lost dollars around the ineffectiveness of IT can't be far behind. Thus, the ability to maintain effective and agile enterprise architecture is indeed a corporate responsibility ... " ...

Via InfoWorld: SOA

Innovative China Business Models: Localized and Modular

Insights on ... creative business models in China that require innovation to compete effectively in their markets. ...

Update: There is a downside to this innovative growth ---> Lack of Sustainability.

... "This so-called localised modularisation approach has been very successful and delivered big cost reductions and quality improvements, says John Seely Brown ... " ...

Via Economist: China Innovation

Green IT Strategy Increasing

Financial firm sees IT's contribution to sustainability. ...

... "The bank is launching trials of new technology, benchmarking data centre energy consumption and reviewing the environmental credentials of its suppliers. " ...

Via VNUnet: Green Approach to Information Technology

IT Roles in Sustainability Initiatives

The I in information technology gets emphasized when sustainability is considered. ...

... "For example, IT is charged with creating databases to track environmental activity - measuring our emissions, tracking the safety and performance of our carriers, and managing our contractors. IT not only manages the information but it serves as a watchdog. " ...

Via CIO Asia: The Green Information Technology Role

Project: Innovative Sustainable Construction ...

Construction project recognized for its sustainable practices. ...

... "The Bronze award winner, the Green Energy Benny Farm project, is a model of urban architecture and landscaping. It comprises the sustainable construction and renovation of 187 housing units on four properties, each linked to a common green infrastructure. " ...

Project: Innovative Sustainable Construction: Via St. Lawrence Cement: Green Energy Benny Farm Project Takes Prize at Global Holcim Awards ...

Sustaining Innovation: Growth Through Creativity ...

Creativity fuels the innovation engine. How can we increase creativity to accelerate innovation? What are leadership principles necessary to drive growth through the creative organization? Here are some great insights ... Marc Babej provides excellent summary of Peter Georgescu, Young & Rubicam, on sustainable innovation from the Fortune Innovation Forum. Peter emphasizes three points on innovation: Embrace creativity, emphasize human values, and support active involvement in investing in future generations through education. Creativity is seen as a core enterprise competency that requires a special type of leadership to cultivate and sustain. ...

Via Being Reasonable: Peter Georgescu on Sustaining Innovation ...

... "First, embrace creativity as the most vital enterprise resource. The only leverageable asset on a company's balance sheet. Creativity is the cure for lack of differentiation, and in turn it begets profits. It's an inexhasutible resource, but also fragile. Creative output requires a new type of leader, one who refuses to manipulate or manage through fear. " ...

David Tanner, Tanner & Associates, Inc., discusses harnessing and increasing the creative capability in a research and development environment. These techniques should apply to most innovation scenarios. ...

Via Winston Brill: Creativity and Innovation in R&D ...

... "It's vital to set aside quality time specifically for people to learn the techniques of creative thinking. This first step satisfies an essential criterion for cultural shift - that is, it gives status to the effort. What resources can you use to focus on this subject? In-house seminars, books and articles on creativity, and outside creativity experts. " ...

Ben Simonton expands on the leadership techniques necessary to increasing the enterprise creativity competency ...

Via Corante: What Drives Innovation?. IdeaFlow: Discussion about innovation and creativity -- new products, strategy, open innovation, commercialization of technologies, patents, idea generation, customer input in the NPD process, more.

... "The brain controls creativity, innovation, productivity, motivation and commitment. I will attempt to explain a superior leadership strategy which turns on brains to the maximum extent and thus greatly enhances innovation. ... A superior leadership strategy inspires people to do more, dream more and learn more. We all know that people are our most important asset and that the best ones are self-motivated self-starters. Unfortunately, only 5% or so are naturally that way. A superior leadership strategy is capable of making the vast majority of employees self-motivated self-starters who are highly committed and highly productive, up to 300% more so than if poorly motivated. So what is this strategy? " ...

SarbanesOxley SOX Project: Sustainable Process ...

Sarbanes-Oxley SOX compliance is transitioning from a project management effort to an embedded sustainable process. Nancy Beacham, PWC, offers her perspective on the evolution of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance in year two. ...

SarbanesOxley SOX Project: Sustainable Process: Via IT Business Edge: From Project to Process ...

... "Companies have since realized that they can't do Sarbanes-Oxley compliance under a project mode, so they are moving it into a process that is embedded within the organization. " ...

Sustainable Construction Project: Green Roof Projects ...

Inhabitat explores construction techniques (green roof) to combat the urban heat effect. ...

Via Inhabitat: Green Roofs ...

... "the city of Chicago is leading the way. Chicago's Department of Environment is actually giving away $5,000 grants to any building owners who want to start a green roof project. ... " ...

Construction Project Management: LEED Green Building Certification ...

Johnson Controls introduces software-enabled process for simplifying sustainable green building construction. The software supports the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. ...

Construction Project Management: LEED Green Building Certification: Via Johnson Controls: Johnson Controls Launches Leedspeed Software to Expedite Environmental Green Building Certification ...

... "Leedspeed is divided into two sections: Assessment/ROI Planner and Project Management/Certification. In the Assessment/ROI Planner Section, the Leedspeed software automatically scores a project against the most current LEED-NC (new construction) or LEED-EB (existing building) standards. It then ranks potential LEED credits so building owners can determine the best green features to help them maintain budgets and gain environmental and social returns. ... In the Project Management/Certification Section, Leedspeed provides comprehensive project development and management functions by organizing tasks and responsibilities to properly manage workflow, maintains electronic work schedules for subcontractors, and archives building data. Finally, Leedspeed acts as an electronic repository of all the documentation needed to submit a LEED certification application using the required USGBC letter templates that can be loaded onto the tool. " ...

Leedspeed is powered by Enverity, industry leaders of Web-enabled software applications that corporations and municipalities use to improve their environmental compliance management. Enverity is managed by a former chief technology officer and co-founder of MarketXT, an online securities exchange, and a former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and World Bank environmental compliance expert.

Governance Software: OMB A123 Compliance

Governance technology software supports government compliance with OMB A123 requirements ...

Governance Software: OMB A123 Compliance: Via Protiviti: Protiviti Releases Cost-Effective Technology Solution that Enables Government Agencies to Comply with OMB A-123 Requirements ...

... "Protiviti Inc., a leading risk consulting and internal audit services firm, today announced the release of a new product extension for the Protiviti Governance Portal designed to help the federal sector achieve complete, sustainable and cost-effective compliance with OMB A-123 requirements. This extension leverages functionality from Protiviti's SarbOx Portal, which launched in April 2003 and emerged as one of the market's leading solutions for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance with nearly 300 commercial client installations worldwide. " ...

High-Profile ILM Project: Information Lifecycle Management ...

High-Profile ILM Project: United States Postal Service Awards EMC Five Year Contract: EMC to Address USPS' Business Continuity and Data Protection Requirements Through An Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) Strategy ...

An ILM information lifecycle management project at USPS is key to driving operational efficiency and effectiveness in the administration of 650 Terabytes of storage (EMC infrastructure). Project management services will come from EMC to create this high-availability, secure, and efficient process for the management of information over its lifecycle ...

... "Through this agreement EMC Consulting will work with USPS to conduct a solutions assessment, and provide project management and design and implementation services. Additionally, the USPS will use EMC ControlCenter® to monitor and manage its extensive storage environment consisting of EMC Symmetrix® and EMC CLARiiON® networked storage products for its storage area network (SAN), EMC Centera™ for content addressed storage (CAS), and EMC Celerra® network attached storage (NAS). " ...

Since 1775, the Postal Service has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. It is an independent federal agency that visits 142 million homes and businesses every day and is the only service provider delivering to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of more than $69 billion, it is the world's leading provider of mailing and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world's mail volume—some 206 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year—and serves seven million customers each day at its 37,000 retail locations nationwide.

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world leader in products, services and solutions for information storage and management that help organizations extract the maximum value from their information, at the lowest total cost, across every point in the information lifecycle.

Additonal references on ILM:

Via Computerworld, The new buzzwords: Information lifecycle management, Steve Duplessie, Nancy Marrone, and Steve Kenniston write:

... "What's important to remember is that ILM is not a technology - it is a combination of processes and technologies that determines how data flows through an environment. By doing so, it helps end users manage data from the moment it is created to the time it is no longer needed. " ...

Via SNIA, The ILM Initiative (ILMI):

... "ILMI was created by SNIA’s Data Management Forum (DMF) to allow industry leaders and participants to come together into a community to focus on unifying, defining, implementing, and teaching the world about our vision for ILM and its impact on information and storage management. The ILMI operates as an online virtual community, sharing work efforts, training programs and outreach services such as research, whitepapers and training, and educational courses. " ...

Via StorageTek, : Information lifecycle management vision whitepaper:

... "Information lifecycle management (ILM) is a sustainable storage strategy that balances the cost of storing and managing information with its business value. An advanced state of information lifecycle management encompasses a storage management world where business information objects are managed automatically, based on their business value. Fully mature information lifecycle management may result in business performance benefi ts such as increasing revenue opportunities, reducing costs and driving competitive advantage. " ...

Software Supports ITGovernance CorporateGovernance

Software Supports ITGovernance CorporateGovernance: BWise Sets New Compliance Standard with New Product Release: Pioneering Solution Combines IT Governance and Corporate Governance for Full Internal Control ...

BWise software enables integrated IT governance leveraging internal process controls, such as the COBIT, COSO and ITIL standards ...

... "The newest version of the BWise product suite provides the most comprehensive internal control and risk management framework available, with a fully integrated IT and Corporate Governance solution. The flexible solution helps ensure compliance with such key regulatory requirements as those mandated by Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and BASEL II. " ...

BWise is a global leader in compliance and enterprise risk management (ERM) software, with a strong heritage in business process management. Established in 1994, BWise delivers proven solutions to help organizations become “in control” by increasing corporate accountability; strengthening financial, strategic and operational efficiencies; and maximizing performance and ROI. BWise has developed a sustainable presence in the compliance sector with quick start templates for SOX, Basel II, SAS70 COSO, COBIT, and others. BWise has more than 1,200 customers in more than 80 countries worldwide, like AEGON, VNU/AC Nielsen, TNT, Bouwfonds/ABN AMRO and 125,000 users in virtually all markets.