Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
significantly. Policies mandating the use of shared high-capacity work-
group printers instead of multiple personal printers each requiring its
own supplies, double-sided printing, reduced margin sizes, lighter-weight
(in terms of toner or ink consumption) fonts, and white-background
PowerPoint handout printouts are examples of strategies that can further
reduce consumable waste and costs.
The Right Location
Selection of a data center location can affect operating costs and avail-
ability. When located in the north, summer cooling costs can be signifi-
cantly reduced at the cost of potential heating requirements during winter
months. Data centers placed near waterways or advantageous geological
sites may be able to use geothermal or open-circulation options to dump
waste heat and reduce cooling energy requirements. The use of virtual
desktops and telecommuting solutions can also reduce requirements for
cooled office space and transportation energy costs. Consolidating ship-
ping of supplies and equipment can similarly reduce transportation energy
requirements and may reduce procurement costs as well.
Summary
This chapter has briefly examined some ideas about the future of comput-
ing, both in terms of distributed computing as well as environmentally
friendly technology management practices. Although I still have a collec-
tion of abacus and slide-rule devices to remind me of older times, I am
pleased that technology has marched onward. I hope that this topic has
provided you with an effective starting point for architecting the future
of your own enterprise network.
What the future will ultimately bring, no one can truly predict, but one
aspect of technology remains ever present:
The only constant is change.
