E-MailQuote of the Day
by Gabriele Piccoli
On the viability side, sustainable IT has characteristics of security and risk management. I know these risks firsthand as I am an advisor to a startup based in Rome that focuses on streamlining electronic distribution for hotels and resorts. The cofounders of the firm always know when I teach security in my course. Invariably, once a semester, as I get ready for my lecture, I get an uneasy feeling about how much is at stake when security breaches occur. As I get that feeling, I call them up to be reassured that we have taken all the appropriate steps to mitigate all security risks. This is probably the same feeling you have all experienced once or twice (some of us more) when you have gone to boot up your computer and found that it does not start. We immediately think about the last time we backed up our files (in my case, typically a long time), and we get the sinking feeling of losing one of the most valuable things we have -- our data. The key is that a looming crisis often brews under the surface, but once it reaches its trigger point, it explodes to the surface. The fact that nothing major has happened yet does not mean that there is no crisis, but makes it easy to forget about it.
As ... I have become more interested in sustainability overall, I got the same feeling. So much is at stake when it comes to the viability of our planet, let alone our organizations, that it is our responsibility to make green IT and green IS a priority. But note that this focus on viability does not come simply at a cost. This is where sustainability shares important characteristics with the innovation and agility trends we have been covering lately. Sustainability and green IT create significant opportunities for organizations that are nimble and forward-looking enough to seize them. Green IT and IS can be great for business!
"Being Green: A Duty and an Opportunity"
Cutter Benchmark Review, Vol. 8, No. 5
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This article originally was published in Cutter Benchmark Review. For more information, contact Cutter Consortium at +1 781 641 9876, fax +1 781 648 1950, or e-mail service@cutter.com.
