AT&T (Finally!) Installing Energy-Saving Software on Its Computers

Photo via MrBill

Apparently it only took the economy taking a tumble to finally get AT&T to install some “duh” energy-saving (and therefore money-saving) software onto 310,000 desktop computers at their US facilities. This tiny fix adds up to some huge numbers...

"For the IT function at AT&T, our emphasis is doing more work with less energy and using products that are minimally impacting the environment," said Rick Felts, AT&T senior vice president of Information Technology Operations.

Yeah, sure. It's all about the environment. Um, and maybe a massive amount of money too.

AT&T expects to save about 135 million kWh thanks to the software, which means roughly $13.6 million saved annually. And on a greener scale, it also means about 120,000 tons of CO2 saved each year.

Companies are notorious for allowing PCs to stay on all night - partly the fault of employees, and partly of the companies. Yet, such an action costs businesses an estimated $1.7 billion annually. So, the software of choice is 1e, which keeps PCs accessible for upgrades even while they’re powered down.

Whatever AT&T's motives, the move is wonderful. Thankfully, more companies than just AT&T are catching on to these little tweaks for big savings, and energy conservation is earning a prime seat in business plans.

Via Greener Computing

More on Energy-Saving Software:
Interview: Verdiem, Making Computers Use Less Energy
7 Downloads That Turn Your PC From Energy Sucker to Energy Sipper
CO2 Saver: Toolbar Reduces, Measures Computer Energy Use, Carbon Emissions