Cost and security remain top considerations but increasing scrutiny will force rethink

London, UK – 19 July 2007 – UK companies continue to view environmental concerns as a distant priority when it comes to IT purchasing decisions, according to the latest survey from 1E, the UK­based global provider of Windows management software.

1E's study, which surveyed IT managers from 100 UK enterprise organisations, indicates that the more traditional considerations of cost and security continue to dominate the procurement agenda for technology infrastructure, despite increasing corporate and governmental focus on issues such as power consumption and carbon footprints.

According to 1E's findings, over 60 per cent of companies continue to regard cost as the key factor in IT purchasing decisions, whilst over 35 per cent view security as the primary concern. Environmental concerns remain a distant third priority, with just three per cent of respondents citing these issues as their priority.

In another notable trend, more than two­thirds of those companies surveyed are yet to impose any kind of formal policy for the shutting­down of company PCs during evenings and weekends. This is particularly relevant given the findings of a recent National Energy Foundation study, conducted in collaboration with 1E. This report estimated that 1.7 million corporate PCs are routinely left on by UK companies when not in use, wasting some 1.5kWh of electricity and generating around 700,000 tonnes of unnecessary CO2 each year.

"Given the ever­increasing focus on corporate carbon footprints, the findings of our latest survey clearly indicate the need to raise awareness of IT power consumption issues," comments Sumir Karayi, CEO, 1E. "Companies face mounting pressure to reduce their carbon emissions ­ from legislators, customers and indeed their own workforces. Employing a power management solution to manage PC energy consumption is one of the fastest, easieststeps enterprise IT managers can take to address this criticism. Indeed, options such as our own NightWatchman solution are so efficient they often pay for themselves within six months, depending on the size of the business in question," he adds.

Despite this apparent inaction from the corporate sector, 1E's survey also indicates that legislative pressures may soon force many IT managers to clean up their act. Around two­ thirds (63 per cent) of those firms surveyed plan to review the power consumption of their technology infrastructure based on the UK Government's recent energy white paper, which proposed a carbon capping/trading scheme for businesses as part of its recommendations.

For further information on all 1E's full portfolio of management solutions for Microsoft Windows, including NightWatchman, please visit: https://www.1e.com