Energy represents the biggest cost increase for small and medium sized enterprises globally over the last two years so there are good business as well as environmental reasons for Irish SMEs (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) to adopt a green approach to IT. The need for Irish SMEs to adopt a more green approach to IT was highlighted recently when oil reached $100 a barrel.

This was stated by Peter O’Neill, Sales Director, IBM at the appointment of Irish owned C Infinity as an IBM business partner. C Infinity provides outsourced IT services to small and medium sized enterprises in Ireland.

A recent global study by IBM of 1,400 small and medium sized enterprises found that energy accounted for the biggest cost increase over the last two years for SMEs, surpassing healthcare, payroll, rent and equipment. Recent research by IDC estimates that for every dollar spent on IT, 50% is spent on related energy costs. (¹)

“This is a huge issue for Irish SMEs,” commented Caitríona Lynch, managing director and founder of C Infinity. “The ongoing energy crisis is driving oil prices and subsequently electricity prices up. Ireland is one of the most expensive countries in Europe for electricity. And running IT systems requires significant energy in terms of electricity and cooling.”

She added, “By outsourcing IT and data services you not only reduce your energy consumption costs but reduce the risk of catastrophic failure due to data loss.”

C Infinity’s IBM announcement follows the company’s appointment as a distributor in Ireland for Iron Mountain Digital, which specialises in online data back up.

“We are delighted to be able to bring  IBM’s enterprise class range of technology services, software and products to smaller businesses in Ireland, not least because of its commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of its products,” added Caitríona Lynch. She pointed out that in 2007 IBM announced Project Big Green which is a $1 billion investment programme to dramatically increase the efficiency of its products.

C Infinity was established to bring a business approach to the implementation of IT for SMEs. “Most SMEs want to focus on their business not technology and we are bringing to the market the tools to allow them achieve that cost effectively on an outsourced basis. The link with IBM, following on from Iron Mountain appointment, demonstrates our ability to bring enterprise class solutions to the SME market.”

“C Infinity provides IBM with another route into Ireland’s vital SME sector,” added Peter O’Neill, IBM. “IBM’s range of servers, software and solutions are just as relevant to SMEs as larger corporations and C Infinity provides a cost effective means for those firms to access these. We have been highly impressed with the broad experience of their management team and their business approach to the market.”

1. Source: IDC, Worldwide Server Power and Cooling Expense 2006-2010 Forecast, Doc # 203598, September, 2006