Roadmapping the future of sustainable IT

Over the past decade, IT organizations have increasingly embraced the notion of incorporating sustainable business practices into the design and operation of information technology products and systems. Initial efforts focused on enabling the more efficient use of computing resources in terms of reducing energy consumption and its corresponding carbon footprint. The reduction of computing-centric energy use in data centers and throughout the firm summarizes the first wave of sustainable IT, often called “green IT.” However, the emerging second wave will be much more difficult for IT managers to define and successfully navigate. IT products and services have become ubiquitous in developed countries and are being rapidly adopted in emerging economies. Information technology has become highly visible in terms of it benefits and its costs to society. The future of sustainable IT will be driven by government regulation and changes in market requirements. Proactive IT managers need to get ahead of this curve by developing effective market, product/service, technology and organizational roadmaps to achieve sustainable IT leadership. This will likely require IT organizations to move beyond narrow operational requirements and embrace a more strategic role as a key enabler of corporate sustainability and social responsibility efforts. This paper will explore the strategic dimensions and drivers of sustainable IT and roadmap its likely development as a disruptive revolutionary force over the next decade as it moves beyond the datacenter and throughout the IT organization, the firm, markets, and society at large.