Energy business is money business
As energy prices continue to increase enterprises are increasing scrutinizing their environmental and social responsibilities ... and of course their energy bills.
John O'Grady of Blendcom Solutions operates a specialist consultancy service 'howgreenisIT'. John sees the need for manufacturers to become increasingly better focused on energy consumption and not simply features and functions. In this article John reviews Ericsson’s energy and sustainability focus.
A famous muppet once said: "it's not easy being green". Today, quite apart from the words of the famous frog, green business is good business.
Ericsson is recognised as the communications company leading the way in providing highly efficient Information Communication Technology (ICT) solutions that will help both businesses and consumers meet their environmental and social responsibilities ... and of course in doing so, reducing energy consumption costs.
Talk is cheap however, and I would agree that there is a lot of what I would describe as 'green-jacking going on out there. The environment is certainly a high profile topic in the ICT industry and it is one in which it is easy for green credentials to be declared, however, declaring is not enough, scratch below the surface and often it is not difficult to find a different story. This is not the case with Ericsson who are recognised by their actions rather than just words.
Consumption of energy is the measurable element...
Consumption is being increasingly regulated through greater taxation being levied on tangible and measurable elements such as energy usage and disposal of redundant equipment. Businesses seek to control (reduce) the growing operational cost by seeking more energy efficient ICT. This will typically consist of optimising what they have already invested in terms of operational energy efficiency and replacing end of life equipment with new 'greenIT'.
ICT is both seen as a significant contributor to Co2 emissions and e-waste pollution as well as a vital tool in for business to act to reduce their overall emissions. It is estimated ICT (combined) represents approximately 2% of global Co2 emissions and that e-waste is a problem that will continue to grow for some time before improvements overall start to kick in. However ICT is also an enabling tool for business to influence its workforce behaviour and operational efficiency therefore reduce overall direct environmental impact. These are areas where technology companies see the low fruits marketing the benefits delivered by enabling workforce flexibility and mobility. Unified communcations is lauded as an example of a 'green technology solution'. The direct 'green benefit' ... less car /plane journeys for staff and therefore less Co2 emission form those modes of transport.
Ericsson believes that it is necessary to deliver on two counts:
- highly efficient technology design to minimise energy consumption and e-waste whilst maximising product life cycles
- flexible open communication applications that provide the business user with the ability to achieve the communication they need, when, and where they need it.
So what does it all mean...
Cut through all the hype (and there is plenty of it) and you find that 'green issues' when applied
directly to information communication technology relates to the following:
- The manufacture of ICT equipment (removal of environmentally damaging elements in hardware products and the manufacturing process itself) regulated by ROHS directive and carbon emission regulations.
- The operation of ICT (power consumed both directly by the equipment and indirectly
i.e. standby systems and environmental conditioning). - The recycling (removal and disposal of ICT equipment) regulated through the WEEE directive.
It is all in the lifecycle...
Lets get down to the basics, it all boils down to lifecycle management, the rules may be changing but the principles remain the same. The telecoms industry has been traditionally better at this, building long lifecycles (10-15+ years) into their solutions in comparison to the IT industry typical lifecycle of 3 years max. The industries have converged to all intent and purpose and now we use the generic 'communication' term, and use a common language (or jargon as many like to refer to it as) of servers, end points and infrastructure.
Ericsson as a company has always had at the heart of its philosophy lifecycle management,
simply because it makes good business sense. To sell communication equipment and services
successfully to a global customer base consisting of both fixed and mobile network operators,
enterprises both large and small, and many other types of end clients for over 100 years you
would expect that to be the case. It is that ongoing experience of design, implementation and
management of communications that has helped the company keep ahead of the game.
The company does a lot more than talk ...
In the Enterprise arena, Ericsson has directly benefited from the lifecycle management approach
and the products of today are leaders in terms of their 'green credentials'. Customers using their solutions such as MD110 have been able to migrate to the very latest technologies in a seamless and efficient manner, no need to rip out and replace. The portfolio of solutions are as you would expect highly efficient as well as designed to meet the very latest environmental standards.
IP end points (yes, including the colour screen ones) all rated as class 1 devices (PoE rating of 3 watts or less) whilst also incorporating a sleep mode that allows the phones to consume less than 1 watt of power in standby. This has been the case for over three years of IP phones and that represents a typical 75% lower power consumption than competitors. The Ericsson MX-ONE server platform will deliver a 700 line IPBX with a power consumption of 65 Watts (less than a light bulb), the Mobile Gateway and Enterprise Multimedia Server products solutions likewise. Not only are
these products winning awards for their functionality they are truly green ICT solutions with
efficiency and lower cost of total ownership.
It is business as usual for Ericsson...
The term future proofing (lifecycle management) was commonly used by Ericsson from the mid eighties with the introduction of the MD110 PBX, customers benefited directly by being able to
keep up with communications trends by simply upgrading (maximizing their communications
assets). Ericsson design was innovative in that at the heart of its concept was modularity and
backward compatibility and whilst the company was unable to predict the future 20 years out, it
continuously developed its solutions to meet the market’s needs, at the same time also enabling
its customers to maximize their existing infrastructure investments. Its philosophy appears to
remain the same; modular design reduces recycling costs and enables upgrading - rather than
encouraging a churn mentality.
I believe that market behaviours will undoubtedly continue to change as we all focus on our
consumption through improved lifecycle efficiency. Ericsson is well placed to continue to retain a
leading position in the provision of communications solutions to the enterprise, network operator
and consumer.
We all face green ICT challenges, manufacturer, end customer, supplier or consumer; in one way
or another. There is a cost inevitably but there is also a benefit to all of us. There is no choice in
the matter, the environment is moving toward the top of the buying agenda of all businesses. It is just a question of time before all business procurement processes have in its top 3 criteria for selection total lifecycle cost of ownership. Ericsson will figure highly as a vendor of choice as it leads the communications market in providing ICT solutions that will enable businesses to manage both their environmetal and social responsibilities whilst also ensuring their business remains highly competitive and efficient.
About the author...
John O'Grady of Blendcom Solutions runs a specialist professional service howgreenisIT and
sees the need for manufacturers to become increasingly better focused on 'consumption' and not
simply features and functions (in other words the design, implementation and lifecycle management of their technology deployments). Having spent over 30 years in the industry as a vendor, supplier, consultant and customer the challenges I understand and have a full 360 degree view of. The 'green initiatives' will help generate focus attention in a number of key areas we have already touched upon. Power consumption is one such example; it has suddenly become a real key topic to the IT manager when previously it was generally ignored. Market demand for energy efficient solutions will keep the pressure on the manufacturers to deliver those solutions and that can only be considered a good thing.
The green effect should be considered a wake up call for all of us, we need to use our resources efficiently, there are 6.5 billion people on the planet and estimated 55 billion machines... you do the sums!
About Ericsson...
Recent environmental announcements put Ericsson ahead of its peers:
Ericsson is the sole equipment vendor recognised in the Climate Disclosure Leadership Index.
Ericsson has committed to improve the energy efficiency of its base stations by up to 80 percent
by the end of 2008 compared to levels of 2001.
Among the company's other recent achievements is the introduction of the Ericsson Tower Tube.
An innovative way of designing radio base stations, this has led to a 30 percent reduction in
carbon dioxide emissions associated with construction, and a 40 percent reduction in energy
consumption, significantly reducing their environmental impact as well as operational
expenditure.
Another example from 2007 is the recently launched BTS Standby Feature, which during periods
of low network traffic, effectively puts those parts of the network that are not being used in
standby mode - overcoming the traditional practice of having radio equipment continually turned
on.
Ericsson is also leading the push towards alternative energy sources. Its work with biofuels and
solar power is not only cutting carbon dioxide emissions, but making telecommunications
available in areas where traditional power options are either unavailable or unreliable. Ericsson
installed its first solar site in 2000, and since then has seen a steady rise in interest among
operators worldwide for such solutions.
Ericsson's ongoing commitment to energy-efficiency improvements has received recognition in
the form of an award from the China Center for Information Industry Development.
Find more about Ericsson's world-leading efforts in the corporate responsibility area by selecting the related links provided.
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