Microsoft awards Verdiem Innovation Partner of the Year

Melbourne June 18. Today, GreenInnovation, Australasian distributor for Verdiem, the leading developer of power management software for PC networks, proudly announced Verdiem won the 2008 Microsoft Partner of the Year award for ISV/Software Solutions, Innovation. Verdiem was chosen out of an international field of top Microsoft partners as delivering a market-leading customer solution built on Microsoft technology. The Microsoft Partner Program Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions during the last year. "We're honored that this award from Microsoft recognizes Verdiem's ability to innovate and SURVEYOR's effectiveness in reducing energy waste," said Kevin Klustner, CEO of Verdiem. "The business need for cost-effective, green IT solutions is becoming increasingly more prevalent, and SURVEYOR provides a simple way for immediate returns by maximizing Windows' power settings for centralized control and robust management of PC energy."

Awards were presented in a number of categories, with winners chosen from a pool of more than 2,000 entrants worldwide. Verdiem was recognized for superior technology and innovation in ISV/Software Solutions. The ISV/Software Solutions Innovation Partner of the Year award recognizes an ISV that has developed an innovative, new approach to solving a new or existing business or consumer need utilizing the latest Microsoft server or client technologies. The winning partner also demonstrates leadership in the areas of innovation, market potential, media/analyst buzz, investor value creation and customer adoption with at least three active business customers or 1,000 consumers.

"We're pleased to see partners like Verdiem focused on delivering greater environmental sustainability," said Robert Deshaies, vice president, U.S. Partner Group, Microsoft Corp. "Microsoft is excited to recognize their SURVEYOR solution, which reduces operating costs and CO2 emissions by making it possible for organizations to gain network-level control over the power settings of Windows-based PC systems."

Verdiem's SURVEYOR software for PC networks, which supports Microsoft Windows 95 through Vista, helps global businesses reduce energy consumption and the IT carbon footprint. The latest version of SURVEYOR provides IT managers with critical tools to tackle common IT energy management concerns such as reliable patch management, remote access and PC insomnia. PC insomnia, in particular, plagues organizations but often gets overlooked as sleepless PCs remain awake from common triggers such as screen savers or media players -- subsequently wasting energy and increasing CO2 emissions. By optimizing IT energy management through SURVEYOR, businesses can reduce the carbon footprint of a PC by saving 200 kWh of electricity and 440 lbs of CO2 emissions per PC, per year.

Marcel Merkus of GreenInnovation said ”This award is a fantastic recognition by Microsoft of how Verdiem reduces costs AND emissions. As organisations respond to increasing energy costs and the demand for responsible IT management this is crucial." He further said "ICT is generally recognized to be the third largest Office energy user. Microsoft’s award is important in encouraging action to reduce this."

GreenPrint Wins Oxford University's Venture Fund Competition

GreenInnovation announced GreenPrint Technologies finished first out of a pool of 83 companies evaluated in this year's Oxford Said Business School's Venture Fund competition. GreenPrint is now in discussions with the student-run fund about a potential investment in the clean tech software startup.
 
Marcel Merkus of GreenInnovation, Australasian Distributor of GreenPrint said “This is yet another example of how Green IT can save money and the environment.”

The Said Business School Venture Fund was started through initial investments by David Bonderman and Sir Philip Green in 2005 to promote student entrepreneurialism and provide a practical learning tool for MBA students.

GreenPrint Technologies, LLC is the maker of GreenPrint World, Home Premium, and GreenPrint Enterprise software designed to reduce waste in home and office printing. The software eliminates wasteful pages before they are printed, incorporates a PDF writer to provide an alternative to printing, and provides easy options to save ink and toner.

Marcel Merkus further added “It is fantastic such a prestigious Business Institution recognizes the financial and economic returns involved in GreenPrint. We are proud of our association with GreenPrint and look forward to helping people and business save money today and tress tomorrow.

Go here for more

Forrester Research Nominate Verdiem as one of the Hot Companies to Watch in 2008
Organizations use Verdiem’s SURVEYOR software to reduce the power consumption of their PC population when the PCs are not being used. The software optimizes power management, turning computers off or switching them to low-power settings, while still ensuring that critical functions like security upgrades take place..
Environmentally conscious IT organizations are realizing that they can meet environmental goals with the same activities that address long-standing operational mandates — reducing costs and driving efficiencies. And while most user companies are focusing on making their data centers more efficient, Verdiem helps tackle more distributed IT infrastructure outside of the data center.

Go here for the full report.

Green Print Technologies awarded Most Innovative Software Idea

Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) with SoftwareCEO Software Innovation Awards for 2008 announce the award for Most Innovative Software Idea awarded to Green Print Technologies, maker of software designed to reduce waste in home and office printing.

Go here for the full report.

The Green Delay: A timely proposal for IT energy conservation

By pursuing energy-conscious policies, what a company conserves is capital. As energy prices inevitably rise, kilowatts, BTUs, and square feet rise above nickel-and-dime concerns. I reach out to the pragmatists with the message that conservation makes fiscal sense. I don't mind sneaking my agenda through the side door.
Frankly, the trouble with dressing my energy agenda in a suit of pragmatism is that it isn't getting the message across. While I'm preaching consolidation as a means of reducing energy costs, too much of IT, and too many of the server vendors who supply it, use that call to justify overconfiguration. A four-socket, 16-core rack server with a pair of 1-kilowatt power supplies can do the job of two eight-core servers with a pair of 700-watt power supplies. The trouble is, those eight-core servers are only a year old. Buying a bigger, hotter server isn't about consolidation; those eight-core servers aren't taken off-line. The new server is added to the pool of virtual machines that are ready for duty at a millisecond's notice. We may ride into the purchase of higher-density servers under the flag of consolidation, but we typically skip the second half of that exercise that involves turning off the machines we intended to replace.

Go here for the full article.

Carbon Disclosure Project announces findings in supply chain carbon emissions 96% of suppliers see climate change regulation as a potential risk.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the world’s largest investor collaboration on climate change, with 385 institutional investors holding assets under management of US $57 trillion, today announced the first ever findings of its Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration. Cadbury Schweppes, Dell, HP, Imperial Tobacco, L’Oréal, Nestlé, PepsiCo UK & Ireland, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, Tesco and Unilever all work through CDP’s Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration to measure carbon risks and liabilities in the supply chain.
Each of these companies has a supply chain spanning multiple sectors and countries. The majority of member companies’ greenhouse gas emissions are often caused by supply chain activities, such as processing, packaging and transportation. The CDP’s Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration information request encourages suppliers to report carbon footprints and climate change-relevant information, including greenhouse gas emissions data, emissions reduction targets and climate change strategy.

Risks and Opportunities:

Go here for the full report.

Saving the environment can't stop at the datacentre
Answers include looking beyond the office environment, carbon accounting, and sharing green information.

Operating in a low-carbon economy is not going to be about doing the same things using less energy - it's going to be about doing things differently and doing different things.

IT already contributes substantially to the energy efficiency of organisations, but it could do more. The big opportunity for IT organisations is to improve the environmental performance of the enterprise, its supply chain and its products and services in order to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

However, the IT industry is focusing mostly on the energy efficiency of the datacentre, rather than helping the business understand how it can reduce its environmental footprint. Clearly, the IT organisation needs to work more closely with facilities and engineering groups than it has done traditionally. Many of the solution areas are at the borders of traditional information and communication technology (ICT) that might be embedded in building, manufacturing, or distribution equipment.

Go here for the full report.

"GreenInnovation recommends organisations take steps to take advantage of
the opportunities inherent in Green IT. Recent study by PWC -
PricewaterhouseCoopers - bears out technology executives are recognising the silver lining.

Consumers, governments, regulators and, increasingly, businesses are seeing green.

A growing wave of global environmentalism is forcing technology companies to produce greener products through greener processes.

To assist executives in understanding the new "environmental" environment,
in late 2007 the EIU and PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted a global survey of 148 executives and supplemented the findings with over 20 in-depth executive interviews. Though the specific focus may vary, the research shows that technology companies are indeed implementing a variety of green-oriented strategies."

Go here to download the report or listen to the podcast.