Green IT Product Life Cycle
2nd May 2022
Many definitions of “Green IT” focus on energy usage and cooling data centers. That’s important, but misses the important impact of the circular economy, which aims to redefine growth, focusing on positive society-wide benefits. By buying refurbished, extending the life of IT equipment with proper maintenance, and by disposing of a product at the end of its life cycle properly, you can save money and be environmentally conscious.
Comprehensive IT lifecycle management starts before you’ve placed your order and ends after the asset leaves your building. Each piece of IT equipment will have three life stages. Procurement, maintenance, and disposal.
Procure
Before you buy brand new equipment, consider purchasing refurbished IT equipment. Not only will you get the performance you need, but you’ll get the equipment at a fraction of the cost. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better Green solution than to reuse. It extends the life of the equipment, reducing the need to manufacture another one, which reduces the use of natural resources.
When making a purchase it is important to keep a few important questions in mind.
- What’s the expected useful life of the product?
- Is it easily upgradeable without full replacement?
- What’s the anticipated energy usage/operating cost?
- What is its projected resale value?
Refurbished equipment offers a way to meet your performance needs at a much lower cost than new equipment. Especially in an era of limited availability of new IT equipment, refurbished equipment can keep your operation running smoothly without downtime. Velocity Tech Solutions Offers A Wide Range Of Refurbished Servers And Storage Devices For Many Applications.
Use/Maintain/Upgrade
The use and maintenance phase is where IT equipment will spend the vast majority of its life. Technology over time tends to become less energy efficient. This means that upgrading your hardware to take advantage of these improvements can cut down on your energy consumption and reduce your carbon footprint.
Key IT asset management (ITAM) questions to keep in mind.
- What do we have?
- Are we spending money and energy operating equipment we don’t need?
- Is our data center energy efficient?
- Is it time to replace outdated, inefficient equipment?
- Can we reduce power use with different equipment?
The process starts with a comprehensive inventory of existing equipment. There are many software tools that can help with this process. Once you have a handle on your assets, it’s possible to optimize their deployment and management. The Velocity Asset Management Portal can help you get your arms around your IT inventory.
Dispose/Repurpose
Although electronic equipment waste or “E-waste” only makes up a small percentage of our landfills, about 2%, their toxic waste material makes up a significant percentage at nearly 70%!
If you’re looking to dispose of your “old” equipment, don’t just throw it away or give it to a third-party processor who doesn’t have a proven process for refurbishing it properly. There is likely still a lot of life left in that equipment and it could be eligible for reuse/refurbishment.
There will come a time when your electronic equipment does reach a point of obsolescence and reuse is just no longer a viable option. Recycling is the second-best option to reuse because it converts the materials back into raw commodities for manufacturing new items, eliminating the need to mine ore from the earth – the most environmentally damaging activity on the planet. In this instance, make sure you’re taking the steps to properly recycle or partner with someone who specializes in ITAD.
You’ll need to consider backups, relocating software, managing data, information security, and mitigating any risks associated with disposal. Velocity Tech Solutions offers a secure, sustainable asset disposition service that can dramatically reduce disposition costs and security risks.
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Many consumers appreciate working with businesses that go the extra mile to reduce their environmental footprint. You can demonstrate your commitment to running a green business by partnering with renewable energy companies or working with other green technology businesses. These businesses are often no more expensive than their non-green counterparts, and they establish your green credentials with your consumer base.
In closing, green IT aims to minimize the negative impact of IT operations on the environment by designing, manufacturing, operating and disposing of computers and computer-related products in an environmentally-friendly manner.
How can Velocity Tech Solutions help?
We can make Green IT super easy for you from procurement to disposal.
- We sell refurbished IT equipment reducing the need to manufacture a new one.
- Our maintenance portal and team of professionals can help you keep up with maintenance to extend the life of your equipment and to keep it running most efficiently.
- We provide an affordable IT asset disposal service (ITAD) that keeps the equipment lifecycle going through refurbishment and proper recycling practices.