Why a Server is good "Green Business"

The reasons why a server is good for your green technology strategy and can help breathe new life in your old PCs.

So, you have a couple of PC's in your network that are really starting to lag, you've upgraded them with the newest software and they're still too slow. You're next thought might be to purchase new computers altogether. Before you do, consider the fact that purchasing a server not only has many ancillary benefits such as financial and organizational (that I explain in the "Why use a server for your business?" section of this web site) but it is also a rather smart environmental move. I have been a big believer in the fact that "Going Green" is not only the right thing to do, but can also be a very savvy financial move as well.

Many companies out there today simply do not know what to do with computers that quickly become "outdated". The latest recycle statistics indicate that under 20% of all computers are being disposed of properly or recycled. Even with all of the attention on "Going Green" lately, a vast majority of PC's, which contain some toxic components, end up in landfills. The tech industry is galvanizing to solve this problem and is beginning to organize computer recycling procedures. E-Bay and IBM are among those spearheading this effort in the United States.

As I stated before, in most cases "Going Green" is also a sound financial move. Many companies realize the inherent material value of a computer and a small cottage industry has been wisely refurbishing computers for resale for years now. You can take advantage of this by recycling and extending the life of your PCs while helping to improve existing recycle statistics.

How does this relate to servers? If you acknowledge the fundamental value (both environmental and financial) of keeping your computers longer, purchasing a server begins to make even more sense as part of your green technology strategy.

Why a Server is good "Green Business"

Here are the top reasons to purchase a server and breathe new life into your old PCs:

Recycle old PCs instantly: Instead of throwing away older, slowing PCs, you can utilize a server to upgrade the collective power of your entire network by storing huge amounts of data, thereby freeing up memory and resources on your network. Small businesses today need additional processing power to run Web services and Web sites, send e-mail newsletters, and use more sophisticated tools and applications.

Save money on upgrades: Instead of upgrading each PC in your network with additional RAM and hard-drive space, you can focus your resources on a powerful server that can run the entire network with all of the latest applications.

Inefficient power consumption is waste: A server can deliver the processing power for all of the resource-intensive programs on your network. This allows the PCs to run the smaller local applications and keeps their less-efficient power consumption minimized. Running a majority of your functions on a more powerful, more efficient server will tax your PC’s less and save on total energy consumption rather than attempting to operate older PC’s on the newest software. Reducing overall power consumption is at the top of every green technology strategy.

Extend the life of your computers: Using a server extends the life of your computers because they are not only able to work more efficiently by having memory freed up, but the computers will not have to be individually upgraded with hard drive space or processing power so quickly because of the shared power of the server. This is yet another way that servers create cost efficiency and implement your green technology strategy.

Update your network gradually: The addition of a server will allow you to boost the power and utility of the newly created network as a whole. You can then slowly replace and properly dispose of the oldest PC’s as your budget allows without a single large capital expense.

Remember, if you don't recycle your PCs, others will do it for you. They will be the ones reaping the financial and environmental rewards you should be experiencing yourself.

Click the picture below to check out one of the best small business server providers I have found out there, a company I use myself. They offer various affordable server packages to meet your individual green technology strategy: