WSJ writes:
IT managers are experimenting with new ways to cut power use, while also helping the environment. Companies are taking advantage of software programs such as Surveyor from Verdiem Corp., which enables IT managers to automatically turn off desktops when they aren’t in use. Other firms are turning to “thin client” computers, which are barebones machines that connect directly to servers and use far less power than desktops. And many are also using new features, including enhanced “sleep” features, in software and products from PC manufacturers and companies such as Microsoft Corp. that also save on energy.
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Some companies are turning to barebones PC terminals known as thin clients to cut electricity costs. The Verizon Wireless call center in Chandler, Ariz., for example, last year swapped out most of its 1,700 PCs with Sun Microsystems Inc. thin clients. That helped slash its power usage at the call center by a third, say Verizon officials. Afterward, an official of the local power utility “joked whether we were leaving the building,” says Carl Eberling, vice president for information technology at Verizon Wireless, a Basking Ridge, N.J., carrier owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC.
