August 19, 2009 by Adriana Beal
Photo by BotheredByBees
Business analysts often play a central role in aligning organizational needs with the capabilities delivered by information technology. As the concern with corporate environmental responsibility increases, more and more analysts will become involved in defining and validating green IT solutions that address environmental regulations and/or intend to produce less environmental impact.
As Einstein famously said, “We can’t solve problems using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”. Organizations interested in decreasing energy use, heat emissions, and the unnecessary disposal of computer equipment that ends up in landfills, will have to adjust the rules governing how they operate. A business analyst can be instrumental in facilitating the organizational changes necessary to develop environmentally sound IT practices, performing tasks such as:
- conducting an audit of the IT infrastructure and its use from an environmental perspective, as a subsidy for the creation of a comprehensive plan addressing the various aspects of greening the IT in the broader possible manner;
- analyzing trends and concerns expressed by business stakeholders (including investors, customers, media, environmental advocacy groups, employees, etc.), as well as new regulations that may require changes in business practices;
- identifying problems and opportunities related to power, cooling, data center capacity, etc., and documenting the corresponding business requirements and changes needed in policies on procurement, operation, and disposal of IT resources;
- evaluating green-friendly solutions and determining the most feasible approaches to fulfill the identified business needs;
- helping develop a positive attitude toward green-friendly policies and practices and educate teams on the value sustainability offers the company, which may include product differentiation that can expand market share and drive revenues, in addition to benefits in waste reduction;
- capturing, at the project level, non-functional requirements related to energy consumption and other environmental concerns that must be addressed by new IT solutions.
The business case for going green is increasingly clear, and well-prepared business analysts will have a huge opportunity to make an impact in organization adopting green IT practices. Are you ready to become a greener business analyst? Online resources such as http://www.greenercomputing.com/, http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/category/green-it/, http://weblog.infoworld.com/sustainableit and http://advice.cio.com/taxonomy/term/27/0 can help you learn more about environmental sustainability and the technologies and techniques used to achieve greener IT infrastructure, products, applications, services, and practices.
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Sources consulted
The Greening of IT: How Companies Can Make a Difference for the Environment
Lamb, John. IBM Press, 2009.
Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices
Murugesan, S.; IT Professional Volume 10, Issue 1, Jan.-Feb. 2008 Page(s):24 – 33
The Road to Greener IT Pastures
Cameron, Kirk W. Computer, vol. 42, no. 5, pp. 87-89, May 2009
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