Technology is vital in business because it helps you to boost productivity and save money, but have you ever considered the energy costs associated with business technology? They are huge and if you really want your business to be eco-friendly, you need to find ways to cut back. Although there are certain things that you simply cannot change because your business relies on them, there are some simple things that you can do to reduce energy consumption. These are some of the best ways to reduce energy costs associated with business technology.
Only Use What You Need
So many business owners make the mistake of thinking that more technology equals more benefits, but that is not the case. Certain pieces of technology are useless to your business and they will not save you any money, but they will use a lot of energy. For example, does everybody in the office really need two screens on their computer? Some people do, but if an employee is using one simple piece of software to do all of their work, they don’t. When you are buying technology upgrades, follow these simple rules to ensure that you are only using what you need and you are not wasting energy on things that do not benefit the business.
Use Server Virtualization
Running a large server on-site uses a huge amount of energy, and it is not necessary because you can use server virtualization instead. If you hire a managed IT service (like this one at sundogit.com) they can divide your physical server into multiple virtual ones and store that data on the cloud. That means that you have an added layer of protection and you do not need to pay for the electricity to run a physical server. This one change can save you a huge amount of money, so it should be a priority.
Go Paperless
Printers and copiers are not very energy efficient, and if your employees are printing out endless documents all day, that is not very eco-friendly at all. The thing is, you don’t really need them anymore because the technology is there to go paperless. If you invest a bit of money in things like cloud storage solutions and collaboration software, your employees can do things digitally. Although it will require a large initial investment, you will save money over time and it also increases productivity. On top of that, you will save a lot of electricity because you do not need to run inefficient printers and copiers all day long. Visit cio.com for some great tips on creating a paperless office.
By making these simple changes, you can reduce the energy costs associated with business technology and create a truly green business.