How to Reduce a Company’s Carbon Footprint

In today’s world, everyone is gung-ho about greener living. This new phenomenon has recently spilled over to the corporate world. Every major company is trying to lower the impact they have on the environment and there are several new computing options available specifically geared to large organizations looking to reduce their carbon footprint. These options include: low-power netbooks, thin client computers and multiseat computing like MiniFrame SoftXpand.

This article from eHow.com will explain the benefits of multiseat computing for both your company and the environment.

1.   In today's society the environment has become an important subject, we are always being asked to "do our bit" to try and reduce our "carbon footprint". There are several options on the market to choose from if you wish to lower the impact your usage of IT has on the environment.

2.   Firstly there are computers designed with low-power components, which consume less electricity. Within the last two years a new category of PCs known as "netbooks" have gained popularity. These are small notebooks, which typically include a low-power Intel CPU that consumes as little as 2.5 Watts of power. The payoff for using energy saving components is a battery life of up to 7 hours, compared to a typical laptop which will last a maximum of 2 hours; this means less plugging in to recharge and a lower carbon footprint as a result.

3.   Due to the runaway success of these "netbooks", PC manufacturers like Dell and Asus are now starting to release desktop variants of netbooks called "nettops". These desktop PCs are extremely compact with typical dimensions of 22cm by 17cm and have a power consumption of around 20 Watts, which is 90% lower than a typical desktop computer.

4.   Another option for saving energy is using a "thin client". A thin client is a small, low-power computer, which is connected to a remote server that performs the majority of processing tasks for the thin client. The server can also have software installed on it that can be accessed by the thin client; such as an office suite or accounts package.

5.   There is also a new, revolutionary option for going green and reducing your organization’s carbon footprint - Miniframe SoftXpand, a multiseat computing solution offered by Lucid IT Services. SoftXpand transforms a single desktop PC running Microsoft Windows XP into up to six fully independent computer workstations using standard monitors, keyboards and mice. With SoftXpand you can easily lower your organization’s carbon footprint. Rather than having six separate workstations all requiring their own power source and generating heat, SoftXpand only requires one computer to be switched on, which reduces power consumption by up to six times.

6.   SoftXpand is based on a simple fact; today's PCs are so powerful that the vast majority of applications use only a small fraction of the computer's capacity. MiniFrame's Multiseat computing software SoftXpand taps this unused capacity so that it can be simultaneously shared by multiple users, spreading out the cost of the PC, and providing six times the number of seats for the same money. SoftXpand's unique resource sharing & intelligent balancing system allows the full utilization of a PC's power and cleverly allocates resources. Modern Video cards are equipped with a powerful Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) and Video Memory (VRAM). SoftXpand uses this power and automatically balances it between the workstations according to the applications' needs.

7.   SoftXpand lowers electricity consumption drastically; a single SoftXpand machine will use 1/6 of the electricity of six standard PCs - which helps to reduce your electricity bills and carbon footprint. As a result of these lower power requirements, it also generates less heat; a single SoftXpand machine will produce 1/6 of the heat of six machines - meaning you won't need to turn on the air conditioning as often. And when the system reaches the ends of its useful life, only one PC will need to be replaced instead of six and less hazardous computer equipment will end up in landfill.

If you have any questions, contact Certified CIO by calling 443-283-0666 or click here today!