Ovum: businesses still missing out on power management savings

IT departments are missing out on potentially significant power consumption savings due to fears that PC power management (PCPM) solutions could disrupt core IT operations, according to analyst firm Ovum.

In a new report entitled “Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor,” Ovum reveals that organisations can achieve average power consumption savings of up to 40 percent through use of PCPM. That equates to annual savings of 380kWh and 586 pounds of CO2 per PC, saving the organisation around $36 per PC per year.

These figures are based on Ovum's assessment of 11 leading PCPM solutions, including those from 1E, Dell KACE,
IBM, Lumension and Verismic, among others.

“With the cost of electricity rising and increasing pressure on organisations to implement sustainability initiatives, PCPM solutions can be an effective way to reduce energy consumption, and therefore operating costs,” said Rhonda Ascierto, Ovum Senior Analyst and author of the report.

PC power management solutions also help companies meet growing expectations from shareholders and consumers that they will conduct business in an environmentally responsible manner, said Ovum. PCPM solutions with advanced reporting capabilities can be incorporated into broader sustainability programs to help reduce CO2 emissions.

In spite of the cost and energy saving potential, however, many IT decision-makers are resisting adoption of PCPM, due to concerns that the software could interfere with core IT operations.

“There exists a general mistrust among IT departments and a fear that power management solutions may disrupt core IT operations,” said Ascierto. “But this is a misconception: none of the power-management solutions we review in this report disrupts maintenance or other IT processes.”

Some are also relying too heavily on built-in desktop power-saving technologies, which Ovum warns are often inadequate. This is because they fail to tackle “PC insomnia,” which occurs when a machine is idle yet unable to shut down or switch into a low-power mode.

“Organisations need to consider power management solutions as part of their broader business and sustainability strategies,” said Ascierto. “The focus should be on solutions that deliver measurable and actionable results, which will encourage employee participation.”