Transportable Data Centre for Broadcaster and Bulldozer Company

Broadcaster Seven Network Limited has proposed merging with the WesTrac machinery company to form Seven Group Holdings Limited. A TV broadcaster might not seem to have much in common with a company which sells and repairs Caterpillar brand bulldozers, but late last year IBM have announced it was building a "Portable Modular Data Center"for WesTrac. This is in two modified shipping containers, with its own generators and could be very useful for a broadcaster.

Australian Open Web Page Scores Mixed

Staff from the IBM Atlanta Innovation Centre were telling me yesterday how they designed the web site for the Australian Open in Melbourne with accessibility in mind and with a mobile version. Today I ran the home page through the usual tests I get my web design students to use on web pages. The results were not bad, but also not as good as I was expecting. None of the problems found appear to be serious and not enough to make the web site inaccessible. Some of these are likely to be deliberate design decisions, where the automated tests do not reflect the real world, some don't matter. But the others are things IBM should be able to fix, with a little effort:

Desktop version of the Australian Open web site:

• Automated accessibility test (TAW): 5 Priority One, 131 Priority Two and 21 Priority Three problems detected on the home page.
  
• HTML Validation: 100 validation errors detected.
• W3C mobileOK Checker reports "This page is not mobile-friendly!". Note that this the ordinary desktop version of the page. Even so, it would be useful if it had some mobile attributes, such as small size, to make it easier to use on slow wireless small netbooks.
  

Mobile version:

• Automated accessibility test (TAW): 0 Priority One, 10 Priority Two and 1 Priority Three problems detected on the home page.
• HTML Validation: 10 validation errors detected.
• W3C mobileOK Checker scores the page 79 out of 100. This would be a good score for a standard web page attempting some mobile compatibility, but is not good for a web page specifically designed for mobile devices.

IT at the Australian Open Tennis

Greetings from the Australian Open in Melbourne. IBM have flown me down as part of their "Insight 10" (Twitter tag: #insight10 ) to show off the systems used for supporting the tennis.

This all started late last year when I had a phone call from Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide asking if I would like to be one of a small group of opinion makers. This sounded like a scam, or at best "cash for comment". It was explained that there would be no cash, which made it sound worse: why would I comment for free? However, I thought I would see what it was all about.

Some months later I got an invitation to the tennis. I don't actually like tennis, but was promised a look behind the scenes at the computer system used for the scoring and statistics, which sounded more interesting.

So here I am in the IBM corporate tent (an air-conditioned, carpeted tent). There is quite a buzz outside with people draped in Australian flags for Australia day.

We were all handed a HTC Android phone, running a the "IBM Seer" app. This is an augmented reality application which takes the image from the camera, the location from the GPS and the direction from the digital compass and overlays the scene with information about the venue. AT the tennis this shows things link which arena is which and where the toilets are. The application is a lot more usable than I expected, but has a few limitations. The HTC screen is not readable in the bright Melbourne sunshine. The text on the screen is too small for me to read.

At court side there are sensors and people with PDAs recording statistics on the tennis matches. I had assumed this would be just the score, but there is a radar system for recording the speed of the serves and people to enter the style of play. This data is transmitted to servers around the world, logged in a database and provided to the TV and web systems.

We then went down under the main courts where the public are not permitted. There in a room in the basement of the building, in a concrete lined room with a ziggurat ceiling (the underside of the stepped seating) was a room full of equipment with some very relaxed looking IBM technicians. I noticed the servers are mounted in SKB transportable shock mounted racks in stackable containers (as used for military IT systems). The people running the system travel around the world to different sporting events, taking the equipment with them.

Back at the VIP tent we were shown the tennis home page, which is only available in English (there is also an iPhone app available in multiple languages). One internal applications shown was the one used for scheduling the matches. This was refreshingly simple, with no graphics: just a grid of text, emulating a whiteboard. One problem with this is that to indicate a player is about to go on their name changes from blue to green. This needed to be changed to give some other indication for those who are colour-blind.

There was also a screen showing how much energy the system was using. I would have liked to see more of this, but my fellow Insight10s got very excited by another display analysing the online response to the event. This display scans blogs, tweets and other material online which mention the Australian Open and assess what is said. This .looks at what sponsors are mentioned and if the sentiment is positive or negative. This seems t be why I am here, with the aim of having me blog something which ends up in the positive category.

After lunch there was an entertaining tennis quiz, using "clickers" (hand held feedback devices, as used for quizzes in schools). There there were questions and answers by John Fitzgerald (ex-professional tennis player).

Last official part of the day before watching tennis was question and answer with the people from the IBM Atlanta Innovation Centre who look after the sporting application. They said I could ask anything so I asked if the Australian Open home page complied with Australian accessibility law. The last time I was involved with an IBM supplied sport system was the Sydney Olympics, where I testified in the Human Rights Commission that the web site was not accessible to the blind. The IBM people took this rather heavy question quite well. They said that the site was designed against IBM's own internal guidelines as well as other accessibility guidelines. The major difficulty for a sport such as tennis is complex multidimensional tables which update in real time. The answer to this is to provide micro updates. This reduces the bandwidth required for all users. Fir those with a disability it is possible to provide a text based running commentary and which s much like the scoring you hear on the TV broadband of the tennis. There is also a mobile version of the site, which we tried on an iPhone and which looked good.


ps: While IBM don't provide it there is also a system with eight cameras tracking the ball for enhanced display on TV.

IBM Portable Modular Data Center for WA

IBM have announced in "WesTrac Selects IBM's Portable Modular Data Center" that West Australian bulldozer company WesTrac is buying an IBM Portable Modular Data Center (PMDC). This will be made up of two modified shipping containers, with IBM "Rear Door Heat Exchanger", uninterruptible power supply (UPS), batteries, chiller unit and a 400kVA generator.

The IBM Rear Door Heat Exchangers replace the usual perforated metal doors of a standard equipment rack with a water colled unit. The hot air for the back of the equipment is cooled as it leaves the rack. This contrasts with the approach of APC and other vendors, who cool the hot air behind the rack. The IBM approach would increase the complexity of the installation, with pluming full of cold water on a moving door of each equipment rack.

The data centre is claimed to be "portable", but IBM talks of also a concrete slab on which the containers, generator and chiller will be installed. It is not clear how the system could be easily portable if it needs a concrete slab to be laid. A system using screw piles with twistlocks, which attach to the standard ISO container connectors, would seem to make more sense.

One point not made clear is why WesTrack would need such a large portable data centre. All of the data processing for a modern medium sized company would fit in a couple of equipment racks about the size of a filing cabinet. If the equipment is intended to support customers online, then there is no need for the equipment to be portable, or to be located in a remote area, as it could be as easily located anywhere in the world with Internet access. It is difficult to see the need for this much data centre capacity in an isloated location not connected to the Internet.

SYDNEY, Australia - 17 Dec 2009: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that WesTrac Pty Ltd, an industrial machinery supplier headquartered in Perth, has selected IBM to design and implement a Portable Modular Data Center (PMDC) solution to provide the company with a flexible, cost-effective data centre to meet its immediate business needs as well as support future IT growth.

Faced with the need for additional data centre capacity fuelled by a major IT project and unable to secure more space in its own data centre or through traditional co-location with data centre operators in Perth, WesTrac turned to IBM. With tight project deadlines, WesTrac selected IBM's PMDC as the right solution offering a compact, fully functional, high-density and highly protected data centre, housed within two 6.1 metre customised shipping containers. The IBM solution, due for completion in February, will allow WesTrac to avoid the cost associated and time and space required with building a new facility.

Further:

• The PMDC will be customised to meet WesTrac's specific requirements and can support multiple technology vendors and multiple systems in an industry standard rack environment.
• The portability of the PMDC and its fully insulated and sealed containers means that it can be shipped and deployed into any environment and can be easily moved or relocated to any of WesTrac's Australian locations or where needed.
• The PMDC solution provides a scalable platform. Should additional capacity be required in the future, WesTrac can easily expand the PMDC solution by extending to multiple containers.
• The PMDC has the flexibility to be reprovisioned as a disaster recovery facility or as a live-live facility at any of WesTrac s locations in WA, NSW or the ACT.

"After assessing solutions from other vendors, WesTrac is pleased to select IBM to implement a scalable, flexible and portable data centre facility," said Mark Curtis, Communications Infrastructure Manager, WesTrac.

"This agreement provides us with a complete solution and, most importantly, enables all IT equipment to be easily serviced and maintained from within a closed, physically secure and environmentally tight container. All managed and delivered by IBM, WesTrac will benefit from temporary hosting during transitioning stages, project financing, and ultimately, permanent IT accommodation."

"IBM is delighted to work with WesTrac to design and deliver a PMDC solution to provide them with a quickly delivered, cost-effective and flexible data centre alternative," said David Yip, Site and Facilities Services Business Executive, IBM Australia. "The PMDC offering, part of the IBM Data Center Family of modular solutions, is designed as a flexible option for companies requiring remote or temporary data centre capacity to support their business growth."

WesTrac's PMDC solution will consist of two containers, one purpose built for IT equipment, using IBM Rear Door Heat Exchanger cooling doors for the most efficient cooling solution and overhead cooling and the other for services infrastructure including uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and batteries, chiller unit, cooling fan coils and electrical and mechanical distribution gear and a configured 400kVA engine generator.

Further, IBM will also purpose-build a concrete slab on which the PMDC containers, generator and second chiller unit will be installed. An early warning fire detection system, fire suppression system, fingerprint access system and video surveillance provide the required security for the solution.

The agreement was signed in December 2009.

About WesTrac

WesTrac is one of the largest Caterpillar dealerships in the world, servicing the territories of Western Australia, New South Wales, The Australian Capital Territory and Northern China. Established in 1989, WesTrac® is a wholly owned subsidiary company of Australian Capital Equity, which is owned by Kerry Stokes. WesTrac offers total support for customers at every stage of their Equipment Management Cycle. The comprehensive solution offers a wide choice of equipment options, parts, servicing and maintenance support, that is amongst the best in the industry. ...

From: "WesTrac Selects IBM's Portable Modular Data Center" , Media Release, IBM, 17 Dec 2009

Making the Planet Smarter and Greener

Greetings from NICTA Canberra Research Laboratory where Matthias Kaiserswerth, director of the IBM Zurich Research Lab is speaking on "Innovating to Create a Smarter Planet". The talk did not start well, with severe interference on the public address system. Dr. Kaiserswerth started by pointing out they do not make PCs any more. The still sell large IT systems, but also do software and consulting.He claimed IBM was the world's largest IT research organisation, four Nobel Laureates in the Zurich Labs and labs aorund the world.

Dr. Kaiserswerth argues that smart systems can improve the environment and health. One example was the amount of energy wasted by cars in cities looking for parking spaces. He pointed out that there are about 4 billion mobile phones in the world which could be used for smart applications, but this might need smarter phones with Internet access.

Dr. Kaiserswerth pointed that research on its own is not enough, a business case is also needed. He gave the example of smart sensors on shipping containers. Smart tags could be put on containers, but this would require agreement by all those involved in shipping would need to agree and to share the cost. Dr. Kaiserswerth pointed out IBM worked on Zigbee networking for container to container communication. It occurs to me that this system is also being used for smart meters. So I suggest it might be possible to equip housing modules with a Zigbee device used for tracking the container in transit and then for the smart meter when installed. This could also provide some limited Internet access for the home owner. In a modualr apartment building, the wireless devices in each apartment could communicate with each other to control building services and reduce energy use.

Another example Dr. Kaiserswerth used was the "Spoken Web Project" from IBM's Indian research labs. This would provide information services for people who cannot read text or want to access it via a mobile phone. There have been several attempts at this including the Simputer Indian PDA with voice. However, my preference would be to use advnaced web design, web accessibility standards and advances in text to voice to provide standard web sites which are also avialable via voice.

NICTA Canberra Research Laboratory
Big Picture SeminarSeries
Title: Innovating to Create a Smarter Planet

Abstract
The world is getting increasingly intelligent, thanks to new technologies, the Internet and the enormous computing power of modern PCs. But a more intelligent world does not happen all by itself. Business enterprises, governments and the scientific community must share the responsibility for ensuring that all this potential can develop and be used in the right way.

At the moment we are still wasting energy, our healthcare systems are not working efficiently enough and the economy is overtaken by one crisis after another. What strategies and solutions are available for dealing with basic challenges such as these? How can a business enterprise use information more systematically and more intelligently?
How can the natural resources of our planet be put to better and more efficient use? With the technologies and solutions available to us today we can do more than we have ever been able to do in the past to link together people, things, processes and systems, and to make the world in general a more intelligent place. That is our vision for a smarter planet.

Biography
Since January 2006, Matthias Kaiserswerth has been leading the IBM Research Strategy in Systems Management and Compliance, coordinating the research work across IBM's eight global research laboratories. In July 2006, he was named director of the Zurich Research Lab, which he had lead already once before from 2000-2002.Dr. Kaiserswerth received his MSc and PhD in Computer Science from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and from Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany respectively. He is an honorary professor at Friedrich-Alexander University where he teaches applied computer science.

INVITATION
From imagination to impact www.nicta.com.au
Dr Matthias Kaiserswerth
Date: Tuesday 17 November 2009
Seminar begins at 12.30pm.
A light lunch will be served following
the presentation.
Venue
NICTA Seminar Room
Ground Floor, 7 London Circuit
Civic, ACT
RSVP Bookings are essential. Please email
CRLseminars@lists.nicta.com.au
by Friday 13 November 2009

Innovating to Create a Smarter Planet

Matthias Kaiserswerth, director of the IBM Zurich Research Lab, will speak on "Innovating to Create a Smarter Planet" at NICTA Canberra Research Laboratory, 17 November 2009:

NICTA Canberra Research Laboratory
Big Picture SeminarSeries
Title: Innovating to Create a Smarter Planet

Abstract
The world is getting increasingly intelligent, thanks to new technologies, the Internet and the enormous computing power of modern PCs. But a more intelligent world does not happen all by itself. Business enterprises, governments and the scientific community must share the responsibility for ensuring that all this potential can develop and be used in the right way.

At the moment we are still wasting energy, our healthcare systems are not working efficiently enough and the economy is overtaken by one crisis after another. What strategies and solutions are available for dealing with basic challenges such as these? How can a business enterprise use information more systematically and more intelligently?
How can the natural resources of our planet be put to better and more efficient use? With the technologies and solutions available to us today we can do more than we have ever been able to do in the past to link together people, things, processes and systems, and to make the world in general a more intelligent place. That is our vision for a smarter planet.

Biography
Since January 2006, Matthias Kaiserswerth has been leading the IBM Research Strategy in Systems Management and Compliance, coordinating the research work across IBM's eight global research laboratories. In July 2006, he was named director of the Zurich Research Lab, which he had lead already once before from 2000-2002.Dr. Kaiserswerth received his MSc and PhD in Computer Science from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and from Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany respectively. He is an honorary professor at Friedrich-Alexander University where he teaches applied computer science.

INVITATION
From imagination to impact www.nicta.com.au
Dr Matthias Kaiserswerth
Date: Tuesday 17 November 2009
Seminar begins at 12.30pm.
A light lunch will be served following
the presentation.
Venue
NICTA Seminar Room
Ground Floor, 7 London Circuit
Civic, ACT
RSVP Bookings are essential. Please email
CRLseminars@lists.nicta.com.au
by Friday 13 November 2009

Smartening the Australian Economy

Glen Boreham, Managing Director IBM Australia and New Zealand addressed the National Press Club Wednesday on "Towards a smarter economy". He later have an interview with ABC Radio covering many of the same topics: "Smart technology linked to economic recovery" as well as the transcript, an MP3 audio file is available.

MARK COLVIN: The technology company IBM says Australia should buy more 'smart technology' as a way of beating the global financial crisis.

The head of IBM's Australian arm, Glen Boreham, says the Federal Government could grow the economy by 1.5 per cent in ten years.

How? By making sure computer chips and wireless devices are embedded in the nation's infrastructure.

Mr Boreham says getting infrastructure to work together well could bring big economic and environmental gains in managing electricity, irrigation, health and broadband communications.

And Glen Boreham told PM's Ashley Hall that putting smart devices into cars could solve a lot of traffic problems.

GLEN BOREHAM: If we were able to look at a network of understanding where cars were on a road. That filtering into computers that could analyse data and do predictions. So that they could say well if there's a breakdown here, it will have this sort of flow on affect, we could then actually get information to people in real time. ..."

From: "Smart technology linked to economic recovery, Ashley Hall, ABC Radio PM, 10 June 2009

Making a smarter economy

Greetings from the National Press Club in Canberra, where Glen Boreham, Managing Director IBM Australia is speaking on "Towards a smarter economy". Glen started by explaining he would be talking about social, economic and environmental issues, as well as technology. He touched on the global financial crisis, water shortages and Australia's economic ranking in the world.

IBM has a "Smarter Planet" initiative, with at its core the idea that with more information smarter decisions can be made. I would argue that better information is needed, not more, but IBM is generally on the right track. Many of the examples Glen gave about using information for traffic congestion, electricity and water use require very small amounts of information and do not require broadband systems. Many of the examples would work well with a low bandwidth ubiquitous wireless network.

Mr. Boreham pointed out that the federal government is investing heavily in physical infrastructure in transport, buildings and utilities. These investments would deliver a far higher economic and social return with the application of ICT to optimise their use.

The Australian government, through AusAid, is funding Australian academics to help the governments and industries of other countries build smarter government and commerce. I suggest it would be a good idea to put some of the infrastructure investment into improving governance and business processes in Australia through ICT. This is only in part about technology, it is mostly about management skills in how to make effective use of the technology.

Even technology companies need to learn effective use of technology. IBM should lead by example by using smart systems, not just talk about them. Having the Managing Director of IBM Australia talk to a room of people in Canberra does not communicate the information very effectively. Even the live TV broadcast does not reach many people. It is disappointing that IBM did not offer any web pages or multimedia to complement the presentation. This would not be new to the Press Club as I gave the first multimedia address there in 1996 on: "Australia's 'Net Futures".

ps: Thanks to IBM for the lunch.

IBM's smarter economy

Glen Boreham, Managing Director IBM Australia and New Zealand is speaking on "Towards a smarter economy" at the National Press Club of Australia, Wednesday 10, June 2009. I assume he will be discussing IBM's "Smarter Planet" initiative, with Smart Utilities, Smart Traffic, Smart Infrastructure and other examples of dematerialisation. I will try to do a live blog report from the event. I made a press club address on "Australia's 'Net Futures" in 1996.

When people have more information, they make smarter decisions.

In Germany, 6 million households are reducing their electricity bills, because an intelligent energy grid gives them enough information to do so.

In Sweden, an intelligent road system gives Stockholm’s commuters enough information to reduce traffic congestion by 25% and carbon emissions by 40%.

If Australians had more information about the impact of their decisions – on their pocket, on the environment, on their quality of life, on GDP – they would act very differently.

Glen Boreham will contend that – as we invest billions in building infrastructure through the stimulus package – Australia has a unique opportunity to embed intelligence into every road, building, city and utility grid.

In his view, the information this would generate would empower our citizens, businesses and governments to get behind the issues that affect us all.

Mr Boreham will look to a future where the sum of millions of smarter decisions help us to use less energy, make far more efficient use of our water resources, unclog our congested cities and boost our GDP – creating a smarter, sustainable economy.

Glen Boreham is the Managing Director of IBM Australia and New Zealand having been appointed to this role in January, 2006. He manages a business of nearly 15,000 employees and annual revenues of $4 Billion.

Mr Boreham began his career in 1986 in Sydney, Australia. Since then, he has held senior positions in IBM across sales, general management, business development and operations. Mr Boreham has substantial global experience having worked for two years in Japan and over six years in Europe.

He holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney, and completed a Managing Director’s programme from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

In June 2008, Mr Boreham was appointed to serve as the inaugural Chair of Screen Australia. Screen Australia is the Australian Government’s agency responsible for developing a competitive film and television industry while providing support for projects of cultural significance.

In addition, Mr Boreham is a member of the Business Council of Australia and is Deputy Chairman of the Australian Information Industry Association. He serves on the Board of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and is a Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia.

In 2007, Mr Boreham was named by the Australian Financial Review in the top five most powerful leaders in information industries. In April 2008, Mr Boreham participated in the Australian Government’s 2020 Summit, working on the future of the Australian economy. ...

From: Towards a smarter economy, National Press Club of Australia, 2009

Lenovo low power desktop PC for $269

Lenovo have announced an Intel Atom powered nettop computer. The H200 is a low power desktop computer. It is being bundled with an LCD monitor for US$399.99. Without the monitor they start at US$269. This includes a an Intel ATOM Processor 230 ( 1.60GHz 533MHz 512KB ), Windows Vista Home Basic, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950, 1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz, 160GB Hard Drive and DVD-ROM Optical Drive. It appears to come in a tower PC case which must have a lot of empty space in it (not a bad thing as users feel cheated if you give them a tiny PC box). Presumably if you ordered enough, you could get them to leave out the DVD, Windows and replace the hard drive with some flash memory, to produce a nettop for under $US200.

IBM Green IT

Last night (24th July 2008) Suzanne Kerwan from IBM Australia talked on "The Future of Green IT" at the ACS Young IT forum in Sydney. Suzanne emphasized that IBM is not new to green issues and had been doing it for business reasons, as well as to be a good corporate citizen.

The presentation started with a statement that it was assumed the audience knew about climate change. Suzanne then illustrated the problem with satellite photos of the arctic ice cap and vegetation around Sydney. She then outlined the Greenhouse Gas Reporting, Carbon Pollution Reductions Scheme and the Garnaut Change Report. It was pointed out that the Greenhouse Gas Reporting program has already come into effect with major emitters having to report. The impact of the Carbon Pollution Reductions Scheme in increasing the cost of products which produce CO2 was discussed.

IBM was a charter member of the Energy Star program in 1992. IBM claims to have reduced CO2 emissions by 44% from 1990 to 2005, due to energy savings. IBM is also a founding member of the Green Grid.

It was pointed out that IT accounts for about 2% of CO2 emissions, similar to aviation (as found in the ACS ICT Carbon Audit). Suzanne asserted that IT can also be used to reduce emissions in other industries.

IBM puts an emphasis on data centre energy use. IBM doesn't make desktop and laptop computers any more, having sold off this business to Lenovo. IBM is using low power devices, including thin clients. The data centre energy use started out being a concern over capacity, with building air conditioning not being able to cope with more computers. It is the air conditioning which consumes much of the power. Suzanne claimed that it is the fans in the servers consuming most of the power. Water cooling can be used to make the process more efficient. I am skeptical that the fans consume a lot of the power and that water cooling is a solution. Water cooling is useful in very high density installations, but here more exotic technologies can be sued, such as carbon dioxide colling as proposed for the Canberra data center. But such high densities for data centers are not necessarily a good idea and air colling with more space may a better solution.

Virtualization can be used to reduce energy use by combining the functions of several computers into one. In addition IBM consolidated its data centres and also the management of them globally. Between 1997 and 2008 the number of data centres was reduced from 155 to 7, web hosting centres from 80 to 5, network technologies from 31 to 1 and from 15,000 applications to 4,700. Presumably the one networking technology used is IP with Ethernet. This is ironic as I recall IBM strongly recommending not using IP or Ethernet to its customers in the 1990s.

Some technologies for others to use are:

Intelligent Utility Networks. "GridWise Project". in the USA (may be done with Country Energy in NSW). This can be used to smooth out the peak energy use by 15%.

Stockholm Congestion Tax Project used to charge for car use in the city. This reduced car use. Brisbane is looking at using something similar.

Advanced Water Management: The IBM Australian Development Labs are working on sensor systems for Victorian water catchments.

Some simple solutions Suzanne suggested:

1. Remove Desktop Printers: Reduces consumables and energy use.
2. Shut laptop when not in use.
3. Stands for laptop screens in place of desktop screens.
4. Laptops in place of desktops: This was the only suggestion I disagreed with. It was claimed that desktop computers use more energy than laptops, which is the case for the average desktop. But laptop computers use less energy because they have smaller screens and lower performance processors than desktop computers and cost more. Also laptops have batteries which use more materials and increase the price. If willing to lower the performance of the desktop, then its power consumption can be reduced to that of a laptop, at a lower price.
   

IBM looking at location based green groups. This might be something which ACS could help with, via its Green ICT groups.

The ACS announced this week that it would be developing accrediting for green ICT. So I asked if this would be of use to IBM. The answer was that green ICT should be part of the training for the various professionals, such as those doing data centres, rather than a specific specialization. Perhaps the ACS should include this in the core body of knowledge required for all ICT professionals, just as ethics training is. There then could be small modules for the various specializations.

Another questioner raised the issue of carbon neural energy sources. This raises the possibility that organizations would be tempted to take the easy option and just buy green power to run its computers. But reducing the energy use would reduce the energy cost as well as CO2 emissions.

Telecommuting also came up as an option to save energy.

Another questioner asked about tools for calculating an organization's carbon footprint. IBM partners with another organization to do that.