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Sorry Oracle, Green IT means you too
I've just returned from a roundtable discussion with Oracle's president Charles Phillips in which he mused on the current state of the software giant in a manner typical of a man who has spent more time than is healthy undertaking media training – ie he delivered a series of supremely articulate responses while saying very little of any actual interest.
However, one response did jump out which served to highlight the extent to which environmental issues continue to remain a niche concern for vast swathes of the IT industry.
Phillips was asked the now de rigeur press conference question about what the company was doing to limit the environmental footprint of its products, to which he rather dismissively responded: "There are only so many things we can do as we don't make the things that use the power."
As one hack pointed out this is more than a little disingenuous because a huge number of the machines that do use the power are only plugged in so that they can run Oracle's assorted databases and applications.
Perhaps a little chastened, Phillips said that its new 11g database had two "green features" in the form of advanced partitioning and compression, both of which limit the energy and costs associated with data storage.
However, despite Oracle's latest innovations it was Phillips' initial response that appeared to more neatly capture where energy efficiency sits in the list of Oracle's priorities.
He is obviously right that there is only so much Oracle and other software vendors can do to limit IT's gargantuan energy footprint and that the bulk of the responsibility for tackling the energy crisis must sit with the hardware vendors.
But software developers still have a huge role to play in creating solutions that require less computing power and less storage, even if it is an approach antithetical to their entrenched desire to develop software that strains at the limits of the hardware's capabilities.
I'd be intrigued to know how many developers at Oracle - and SAP and Microsoft come to that - have been instructed to consider energy requirements when they are designing software. My guess is not too many.
Unfortunately though there is no way hardware vendors can maximise improvements in energy efficiency unless software developers begin to consider the power implications of their work. Few of them would say it out loud for fear of riling their biggest partners and jeopardising one of the main reasons customers instigate hardware upgrades, but they will need far greater co-operation from the software sector than they are getting at the moment if their green aspirations are to prove successful.
It is not a perfect analogy, but the stance summarised by Phillips is not unlike a designer working on a car chassis insisting that there is not much he can do to improve energy efficiency on the grounds that it is improvements to the engine that are really required.
With IT, as with all other industries, truly green business models are only possible through holistic development that incorporates everyone involved in the process. The sooner Phillips and his counterparts at the world's biggest software companies realise this the better.
Great stuff. This reminds me of what Larry Page said during the announcement - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19203144/ - of the Climate Savers Computing Intiative: "It will also make computers better. By taking out some of the inefficiencies of computers, it will make them quieter and more reliable."
If Microsoft comes out with a version of SQL Server that provides performance and has a smaller footprint, then IT shops will find it that much more attractive and scalable. They'll vote with their license purchasing, and Oracle will then have to rush to respond....
Posted by :JeremyS | August 8, 2007 5:19 PM
Whilst we all need to do our bit, real green benefits will come from using IT to change the way we work. Looking to simply save energy by changing kit (and what is the carbon footprint of that) strikes me as trying to loose weight by triming your finger-nails.
Posted by :Ronan Miles / Chairman UK Oracle User Group | August 10, 2007 9:31 AM
This from Oracle's web site which highlights not software but physical foot print.
Since the 2000 California Energy crisis Oracle Corporation has taken an aggressive
approach to becoming an even more environmentally friendly company. From reducing
power consumption per employee by 20% to partnering with both Federal and State
agencies and other voluntary organizations, Oracle has become a leader in Silicon Valley
energy and environmental arena.
Examples of Oracle Corporation initiatives:
US EPA Climate Leaders
Oracle is the fi rst software company, and one of the few corporations in the US, that
have voluntarily signed for the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leaders
program. The industry-government partnership requires companies to develop longterm,
comprehensive climate change strategies, set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
reduction goals, inventory their emissions to measure progress, and monitor and report
progress to EPA as climate change policy continues to unfold.
US EPA Green Power Partner Partnership
As a partner of he United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power
Partnership program, Oracle pledged to purchase power from ‘green’ renewable sources
such as wind, solar, geothermal, etc. for its Austin Data Center in Texas, USA. Oracle
is purchasing 25% of its power use at the data center from renewable sources, far more
than the minimum 3% required as a certifi ed Green Power partner, and is honored with
membership in the Green Power Leadership Club.
ISO 14001
Oracle implemented an Environment Management System (EMS) at its UK Facilities in
March 2004, and became ISO 14001 certifi ed in June 2004. Various initiatives in this EMS
program include measures to reduce Oracle’s environmental impact from transportation,
ozone-depleting refrigerants, hazardous waste, waste recycling, and procurement of paper.
Sustainable Silicon Valley Initiative (SSVI)
Oracle is the founding member of the Sustainable Silicon Valley Initiative that seeks
to produce signifi cant environmental improvement and resource conservation in Silicon
Valley. The voluntary initiative was launched in July 2004 with the goal of reducing
greenhouse gases emissions to the same levels, and within the same time frame, as in
the Kyoto Protocol.
Oracle Corporation Energy Conservation
and Environment Initiatives
Copyright © 2004 Oracle. All rights reserved. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affi liates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. 04.0780
Please contact Mukesh Khattar
Energy Director, Oracle Corp.
mukesh.khattar@oracle.com
1 650 506 6980
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Posted by :Brian Knowles | October 10, 2007 4:24 PM