Fast Company Green IT Blog

I've talked about thought leadership of late, and one classic example way to demonstrate thought leadership is to write a book published by a recognized publishing brand and get invited to blog about the topic on a business magazine website.

That's what happened at Avanade recently. Toby Velte, Ph.D., one of Avanade's business development directors, has written a book on Green IT. Many of you who read this blog also know my views on Green IT. I don't believe that most companies are altruistic enough to truly pursue Green IT. They pursue to save money. Environmental benefits are a byproduct ... albeit an important one.

But, Toby's book (Green IT: Reduce your system's environmental impact while adding to the bottom line published by McGraw Hill and new blog on Fast Company (registration required) provide a healthy balance of both a focus on cost savings while highlighting the benefits to the environment.

It's worth taking a moment to register to read this blog.

Here's a little from his first post a week ago. His opening line takes my views to task, but still a great read.

Oct. 13, 2008

Once we dispel the common misconception that Green IT, the practice of environmentally sound practices in the Information Technology field, is an altruistic pursuit alone and not grounded within the constraints of capitalism, we will see the adoption of Green IT explode. Several key elements in the financial markets, public opinion, and technology have aligned to form the perfect storm to bring about radical change in business behavior.

With the world’s financial markets at near collapse, lending clogged with fear, and revenue forecasts looking downhill, IT Departments across the globe are being told to 'do more with less'. That giant groan you heard over the past week was the sound of budgets everywhere getting tightened in reaction to the markets. Mandates tell business leaders to hold tight with what they already have and find ways to get more out of their current environments. That's tough when data centers are doubling every 5 years (US EPA Report to Congress August, 2007).

Good stuff, eh? That's just a sampling of his post. Sign up and read. I'm very excited about this. Stay tuned.