SkillSoft releases `Greening of IT` consensus report as part of its AnalystPerspectives collection

Laragh Skills today announced that Books24x7, a subsidiary of SkillSoft and the developer of on-demand business, technical and engineering content for enterprise-wide professionals, has released a detailed report advising organisations on "The Greening of IT" and how they can benefit from the report`s findings.

Laragh Skills is a distributor for SkillSoft and Books24X7 in sub-Saharan Africa.

Leading analyst firms across the country agree that IT needs to take responsibility for its impact on the environment. Skyrocketing power consumption and cooling requirements in data centres are taxing businesses around the world and global carbon dioxide emissions are rising faster than ever.

Although server virtualisation and consolidation techniques boost server utilisation and capacity, they also aggravate cooling problems. This drives up the cost of ensuring reliable computing systems. Moreover, the more than 800 million PCs that will be discarded during the next five years will add significantly to the mounting e-waste challenge.

Many of these products contain toxic materials, such as lead and arsenic, that can pollute groundwater if not disposed of properly. "The Greening of IT" is the latest instalment of SkillSoft`s AnalystPerspectives series, giving users insight into timely research and opinions from leading technology analyst firms.

"Environmentally-responsible computing has shifted from an act of social responsibility to a competitive and financial imperative," said John Ambrose, Senior Vice-President - Strategy, Corporate Development & Emerging Business of SkillSoft.

"SkillSoft proudly advocates e-learning as a green alternative for companies` corporate training curricula. By empowering employees to contribute to the environment by wasting less paper and not requiring travel to off-site learning sessions, decision-makers are communicating to their workforce that they support all opportunities to make a difference."

"AnalystPerspectives provides a comprehensive view of what`s really happening amid all of the hype on `green` initiatives in the industry," said Jim Hendrickson, Vice-President, Corporate Development of Sterling Commerce. "This report is the best analysis I`ve seen for IT executives on the issues, activities, and impacts of being environmentally responsible and the real value that can result."

Analysts now report there is a significant profit motive for going green. The latest SkillSoft report raises awareness of the environmental effects of IT and how careful selection of PCs and proper utilisation of power can significantly address global cooling and power consumption challenges. Featuring input from 22 leading analyst firms, this informative report focuses on minimising the effects of harmful energy emissions from IT operations.

This report is one of a series of over 120 reports produced this year for Books24x7`s AnalystPerspectives collection. With over 700 research firms tracking the technology industry, selecting and digesting the right reports and applying the information to business needs is an increasingly challenging and lengthy process.

AnalystPerspectives provides organisations with an efficient, cost-effective way to gain insight into technology trends by assimilating the research and opinions of multiple analyst firms to provide a comprehensive, multi-perspective consensus on specific technology topics.

In addition to the 120+ reports created by the AnalystPerspectives team each year, the collection contains the full-text of thousands of premium research reports licensed from over 30 analyst firms, including Datamonitor, Info-Tech Research, PWR Consulting, and Butler Group.

AnalystPerspectives is Web-based and is available via an annual subscription that provides cost-effective access to the IT and telecommunications analyst information that people need to make the important decisions that affect their business.

For a copy of "The Greening of IT" or to learn more about SkillSoft`s Analyst Perspective series, visit http://www.skillsoft.com/online/Greening_of_IT/.