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Benefits of Green IT not clear to IT vendors, says survey

Despite IT managers continuing to pursue a green IT strategy

Vendors are disenchanted with Green IT

Despite the largely negative sentiment surrounding the Emergency Budget last June, and in light of the anticipation surrounding the Comprehensive Spending Review to take place on 20 October, general confidence among IT vendors and buyers remains relatively buoyant with spending on research and development increasing. Social networking is also seeing increased interest, unlike green IT, where vendors in particular seem disillusioned.

This is according to a survey conducted by Computing and IT business advisors Cobalt Corporate Finance. This is the sixth survey in the series, where we put the same questions to 80 IT vendors and 222 IT managers (Computing readers) and compared the results with previous quarters.

Green IT

Perhaps the most striking result of the survey was a drop in enthusiasm for green IT with those vendors actively pursuing a green strategy dropping from 34 to 17 per cent over the past year. This contrasts strongly with continued interest amongst IT managers.

Partner at Cobalt Finance Chris Williams said: “Vendors really do seem to have become disillusioned with the ‘green’ aspect of IT Although some buyers have integrated green aspects into their procurement processes, meaning vendors must respond with green solutions, many are not seeing the ‘carrot’ – that is the benefit to them of focusing on green IT. The consumer is just not offering significant enough rewards.”

Could the recession herald the end of the Green IT movement, or is it just on hold? We will track this in future surveys.

Employment and salaries

In terms of employment opportunities, over half of vendors continue to expect demand for IT staff to increase, compared with only 32 per cent of IT managers. In addition, fewer IT managers expect salary rises – just 33 per cent, compared with 41 per cent in the previous quarter – arguably the result of anxiety following announced and likely cuts.

Research and development

Vendors are still committed to research and development with 38 per cent looking to increase spend, while only 20 per cent of IT managers say they will do the same.
Vendors remain more optimistic than IT managers in most areas, with the notable exception of green IT, where a further slump in interest suggests that some vendors are ready to throw in the towel.

Outsourcing

Following enthusiasm around outsourcing seen by vendors in 2009, when nearly 40 per cent expected an increase in this area, the figure has now slumped with only 25 per cent of both communities expecting an increase in outsourcing, with the majority expecting no change.

Cloud computing

Vendors have consistently trumpeted the rise in cloud computing with over 50 per cent using it in some form, but IT managers remains reluctant with just 15 per cent using the cloud. Indeed, over 50 per cent of IT managers have no plans to even consider cloud computing products or opportunities.

Williams said: "This is an area that could change quickly – if concerns over security are mitigated and budgetary pressures increase with the recession, then cloud computing could see a boost in acceptance amongst IT managers."

Social networking

One of the bright spots in new technologies was social networking, where the number of vendors evaluating the space has doubled from 11 to 21 per cent in the last two quarters, perhaps driven by the rapid acceptance of Facebook,Twitter and the iPhone, all of which have now become recognized marketing channels for corporates in the B2C market.

Benefits of Green IT not clear to IT vendors, says survey

Despite IT managers continuing to pursue a green IT strategy

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