Earth Day is the time of year when everywhere you turn it’s green. The newspaper, radio, and of course TV: several broadcasting networks are featuring special green-themed logos and programming.
So it shouldn’t have been a surprise to see thousands of “green” consumers at this year’s Go Green Expo in NYC. I had the pleasure of speaking at the conference on Saturday about Dell’s green IT strategy. While I'm usually I’m talking to CIOs and business executives about the importance of being green, this conference provided me with an opportunity to connect with another important group—data center end-users or consumers. Besides, it’s not everyday I get to follow Mariel Hemmingway or present before Nigel Barker.
Given today’s digital lifestyle, more and more consumers are becoming concerned about where their data comes from. When they access e-mail, download a video or share photos they want to utilize the greenest technology or systems. Many now realize that a simple Internet search could access a server database say in China, affecting the carbon emissions in that country. Consumers understand that someone has to power all the sheep throwing on Facebook and know that it’s better for the planet if it’s powered by green servers. The energy efficiency of our data centers is no longer just a business challenge, it’s a global, widespread issue affecting everyone. This was one of the topics I discussed during my keynote and it seemed to resonate well with the audience.
So my green data center crusade continues. This week I’m in Washington D.C. with Paul Bell, president of Dell’s Global Public-Sector, talking to federal-agency leaders and policymakers about energy-efficient IT.
I, along with others at Dell, continue to spread the word about the energy efficiency of our products, our efforts to be the greenest technology company on the planet and how we’re helping customers meet their environmental goals.
Until next time, Happy Earth Day!