Managing Green IT

Green IT is new way of developing, implementing, and managing computer resources with minimal impact to the environment. Many companies are investing in green technology and practices with the expectation of potentially saving money and making the company more efficient and competitive, besides saving the planet. But like any development, a comprehensive life cycle is required for success. The elements of a life cycle for green IT initiatives are presented in this chapter, starting with strategic planning with an enterprise architecture, moving to the implementation discussing return on investment, metrics and risk management, information assurance, then concluding with a discussion on communication and the impact of social media. A case study demonstrates aspects of the life cycle for a green IT project.