Energy conservation isn’t just about shutting down computers using PC Power Management. 1E’s software deployment solutions can save energy too. Now that we’ve got over the larger energy savings possible from deploying efficient desktop and server power policies in the enterprise, companies are getting to grips with the finer points of energy conservation. As we often say, it’s about making every Kilowatt count. Here are my thoughts as to how some of our products can not only ‘do what they say on the tin’ but will also save energy in ways that you may not have previously considered.
Shopping – Shopping, our Self Service software deployment portal,saves on excessive email trails, license approval meetings or phone calls, and in some cases can remove the necessity for a site visit from an engineer (which may in turn reduce transport emissions). Getting software to users’ desktops in a timely manner is one of the helpdesks most time and energy consuming tasks.
Nomad – Nomad is a hidden gem of energy conservation. Storage is often overlooked as an energy guzzler but consider the implications of data duplication and replication. Disk drives eat power. Nomad reduces energy usage in two ways. Firstly it reduces network traffic significantly, ensuring that only one copy of a software package crosses links to remote locations. This in itself reduces energy consumption. The main energy saving from Nomad however comes from the ability to service remote locations without the need for a server present. This reduces energy usage both from the server (which would have had to be running 24×7), the disk storage which would have been required and the maintenance of both server and storage.
Wakeup – This may be obvious to some, but a lot of folks still seem to see Wakeup as a tool to simply wake systems when required. What this means however is that you can streamline your whole software deployment process (including the dreaded patching) so that machines really are only on when required if teamed with NightWatchman. The energy savings potential of NightWatchman is only truly realized when Wakeup is there to complete the full desktop management cycle.