Government Goes Green

In this case, 'less' translates to the energy consumed by IT equipment. Less power needed for government agency desktops and wireless devices. Less mega-wattage-dependent server farms. Less discarded computers and handhelds ending up in landfills.

And 'more' means more contract sales opportunities for VARs--if they can deliver environmentally friendly IT solutions and services to federal, state and local government customers. Once considered a second or third priority among buyers of agency IT, the ability to save operating costs through green-friendly features is now emerging as a top consideration in the contract-award process, VARs say.

"Political pressures to conserve and save are being demanded by constituents, so increasing IT needs cannot be accommodated now without a green strategy," said Rene LaVigne, president/COO of Apptis Technology Solutions, a Largo, Md.-based solution provider that works with government customers such as the Departments of Defense, State and the National Institutes of Health on these solutions. "IT investments are financial investments. Those decisions are driven by return on investment."

A federal mandate is also driving the demand: The Bush administration issued an executive order in January 2007 that requires agencies to reduce energy up to 30 percent by 2015, with all computers and monitors needing to be Energy Star-approved. (Energy Star-certified desktops save up to 70 percent in energy costs.)

Another driving factor on the federal side is the fact that many contract rewards are now tied to the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), a widely used system that sets standards for manufacturers when it comes to consumption, according to Input, the Reston, Va.-based government IT market research firm.

Economic realities are also weighing in, as shrinking budgets are forcing federal agency buyers to seek ways to cut energy bills to further reduce costs. Also, improved IT solutions are making it easier to buy into more energy-efficient solutions, such as increased data storage, 'thin client' computers to replace desktops and service-oriented architecture (SOA). Already, high-profile contracts such as SEWP IV, EAGLE and FirstSource are taking up these energy-saving initiatives.

Server consolidation/virtualization is a topic of huge interest now, Input reports, because it allows for several physical servers to be consolidated into a number of virtual ones that operate out of a single box, resulting in improved performance, less energy usage and reduced cooling costs. Round Rock, Texas-based Dell Inc., for example, is partnering with solution providers such as Hinsdale, Ill.-based Hipskind Technology Solutions Group Inc. to provide virtualization solutions that save government customers up to 65 percent in data center energy consumption costs.

"We're seeing existing types of technologies redesigned to consume less energy," said Deniece Peterson, senior analyst for Input, speaking to the reduction of independence on large server facilities. "Or we're seeing more technology solutions that, by their very nature, require agencies to use fewer resources. A thin client device, for example, lasts three to four times longer than a traditional desktop."

Also, agencies are showing more interest in IT solutions that will help them qualify for energy-rebate programs. Insight Investments Corp., an Orange, Calif.-based VAR, has landed contracts with agencies by producing data-storage solutions from vendor-partner Compellent Technologies Inc. that reduce power consumption, floor space and carbon emissions, resulting in significant rebates such as one that Pacific Gas and Electric Co. provides for California customers.

"Once a customer sees the savings, we don't have to use a 'hard sell,'" said Joe Healy, senior vice president of sales for Insight. "Some customers report that they're reducing the number of disk drives required to manage data by 50 to 80 percent, reducing energy consumption more than 90 percent."

Many of these factors are coming into play at state and local government agencies as well, solution providers say.

"A customer's up-front investment for more energy-efficient servers can typically be offset within months by the energy-cost savings," said Lior Blik, CEO of Network Infrastructure Technologies Inc., a New York-based solution provider that has provided virtualization and other energy-saving IT products and services for the Hoboken University Medical Center in Hoboken, N.J.

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