Cisco and IBM Target a Greener World

fact sheet Vendor: Cisco Systems, Inc. (www.cisco.com) Vendor's Information: About Cisco EnergyWise About Cisco Systems, Inc. Alliance Information More About the Alliance from Cisco More About the Alliance from IBM vendor resources Learn More About Smart IT According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the energy consumption of data centers has doubled in the past five years and is expected to nearly double again in the next five. If left unchecked, data centers, PCs, computing and telecommunications networks could be among the biggest greenhouse gas emitters by 2020, according to a new report by McKinsey & Company.

Organizations around the world are working to reduce their carbon emissions, and for many that means turning an eye toward the data center. Thanks to years of inexpensive x86 servers and exponential growth in the amount of digital data that is produced and stored, data centers have been on quite a growth spurt. And that growth comes at a cost.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the energy consumption of data centers has doubled in the past five years and is expected to nearly double again in the next five. If left unchecked, data centers, PCs, computing, and telecommunications networks could be among the biggest greenhouse gas emitters by 2020, according to a report by McKinsey & Company.

Whitepaper: A Greener Planet Starts with Smarter IT This joint white paper from Cisco and IBM outlines how the two companies are working together to help organizations reduce their environmental impact—envisioning a world where everything is instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent. Interested? You should be. Because smarter Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) make it possible for organizations to operate in more environmentally sustainable ways, enabling them to more effectively control power consumption and costs. With energy efficient solutions delivering up to 40 percent savings on energy costs, "going green" makes good business sense. It's also good for the planet.

There is no single solution to help organizations reduce their environmental impact. Some of the biggest names in information technology are working together to deliver energy-efficient solutions that help control power consumption and energy costs.

IBM and Cisco envision a world where everything is instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent. Smarter Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) deliver up to 40 percent savings on energy costs, which means that "going green" isn't just good for the planet, it makes good business sense.

The promise of using smart IT to tackle the world's energy problems is what inspired IBM to form the Green Sigma coalition, which includes key leaders in metering, monitoring, automation, data communications, and software. As a charter member, Cisco collaborated with IBM to integrate two innovative energy solutions: Cisco EnergyWise and IBM Tivoli management software.

The combined solution broadens the range of power-consuming devices it can monitor, manage, and to which it can apply energy-saving policies. It's a holistic approach to energy management that goes beyond the data center to include any network-connected property or asset including, but not limited to, building management.

Cisco EnergyWise uses the network to regulate power usage.

"Anything connected to the internet can be made more green" says John McCool, chair of Cisco's ecoboard. Today, EnergyWise allows you to control Ethernet-powered devices through Cisco Catalyst switches. Soon, these switches will let companies apply power-saving policies to PCs, IP phones, and building control.

The integrated IBM and Cisco solution provides total visibility into the way power is used. With its consolidated view of information, organizations can enable enterprise-wide energy optimizations that yield significant benefits.

Travel Contributes to Carbon Emissions
Travel can be time-consuming and expensive. Not long ago, almost every business function required a trip across town, across country, or around the world. Thousands of trips add up to millions of miles and tons of CO2 in the atmosphere. World-class unified communications and collaboration solutions and services from Cisco and IBM can help you attend any meeting, anywhere with just a click.

When extended across an enterprise, unified communications and collaboration capabilities such as instant messaging, audio, Web, and video conferencing have the potential to transform traditional work and travel habits. With Cisco TelePresence conferencing, colleagues, customers and partners can have a live, face-to-face communications experience that incorporates high-quality spatial audio and life-like video. Without leaving your office you can accelerate product cycles, sales cycles, and decision cycles.

There's no better example of the benefits of curbing corporate travel than Cisco itself. Using its own Cisco TelePresence conferencing, Cisco WebEx collaboration, and standard audio-video conferencing, Cisco has virtually eliminated travel for internal meetings, reducing it by 99 percent. Cisco has also reduced training-related travel by 98 percent.

The increased use of unified communications and collaboration technology was part of Cisco's corporate strategy to deal with the global economic slowdown. Cisco's goal was to cut $1.5 billion in discretionary operating expenses.

One strategy used to help Cisco achieve this goal was a 20 percent reduction in travel mandated by Cisco CEO John Chambers. Chambers also asked for a 25 percent reduction in carbon emissions over four years. The result? Travel expenses are down by more than half (from approximately $750 million per year to approximately $350 million per year) and Cisco is well on its way to achieving its carbon-reduction goals.

A new Managed Cisco TelePresence Service from IBM, launching in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Japan, will make it easy for companies to adopt Cisco TelePresence conferencing

Smarter IT and intelligent networks are more than a "green veneer" for IBM and Cisco. Both companies have big plans for an energy-efficient future, including a Smart Grid that will modernize the electricity industry.

Smart grids will make it possible for home appliances, meters, transformers, and generators to share data and work together so the power grid can be made more efficient and the peak load can be lowered. The plan will also improve grid security. Cisco and IBM are collaborating to identify areas in which they can combine capabilities and resources in support of Smart Grid initiatives.

IBM and Cisco are proud to be at the forefront of smart IT initiatives, providing integrated solutions and services that are good for business and good for the environment.