As we've begun discussing the program for November's VoiceCon San Francisco conference, Fred Knight and I have been looking for ways we can program sessions around the issue of communications' role in saving energy. Since energy costs appear to be on a permanent upward trend, it seems clear that enterprises will have to take a fresh look at this problem from all its various aspects, and it's inevitable that communications technology will be the preferred solution in at least some of the situations.
As we've begun discussing the program for November's VoiceCon San Francisco conference, Fred Knight and I have been looking for ways we can program sessions around the issue of communications' role in saving energy. Since energy costs appear to be on a permanent upward trend, it seems clear that enterprises will have to take a fresh look at this problem from all its various aspects, and it's inevitable that communications technology will be the preferred solution in at least some of the situations.To get the obvious point out of the way: This isn't about saving the planet. There may be some specific corporate directives around "Green" initiatives whose aim is corporate image-building, but what we're talking about here is the immediate and long-term effects that high and rising energy prices will have on enterprise IT systems and human behavior.
This breaks down into two pieces: Conserving energy in the consumption of communications technology by the enterprise; and deploying communications technology in ways that help the enterprise avoid energy consumption in its business processes.
On the first point, Gary Audin and Matt Brunk have been doing yeomen's work here, discussing the progress that's being made--or not made--in bringing energy efficiency to networking. For just one example, as Matt has blogged, the Energy Star certification program is finally coming to servers and other network gear, helping buyers choose products that will use power most efficiently.
However, as Gary has pointed out many times, IP telephony creates unique new challenges when it comes to power consumption, not the least of which is the fact that power demand becomes much more decentralized. Instead of main distribution frames (MDFs) and/or intermediate distribution frames (IDFs) representing a handful of easily monitored and understood locations, much of your power will be consumed at the wiring closet, where desktop switches will run power over Ethernet out to the phones (and the WLAN access points, too).
Not only are these closets often ill-equipped to properly dissipate the heat generated by these deployments--I once heard an APC exec say his company should really be in the box-fan business--there's an even more basic problem when it comes to understanding your power consumption in the new IP telephony architecture: Chances are, the telecom or IT folks never see the bill for the power that's consumed in the closets--that's the bailiwick of the facilities department, which, ironically, telecom used to be a part of in many organizations.
Then there's Part 2 of the larger equation, which is: How can enterprises deploy communications technology, and especially the new Unified Communications capabilities, to reduce energy consumption by employees throughout their day--whether it's commuting to and from an office, or whether we're talking about the way the enterprise moves people and materials around in the course of doing whatever the company does for a living.
Certainly this begins with telecommuting/telework, and it likely involves various forms of conferencing--audio, video and Web--but how specifically does the enterprise implement these applications most effectively? And what other applications might there be? Could communications technology be integrated with business processes to, for example, send workers to the job site or retail outlet nearest their home based on that day's needs? If so, and if that's a good idea, how does that change the employee's notion of where he or she works? They become "home based," at least in the sense that their constant is where they start from each morning, rather than where they report to.
As you can see, this is a big, complicated discussion, it's one we're just starting now, and it's one we hope to engage more fully in San Francisco this November.
