Most businesses still paying lip service to power management

A new survey from KACE, which makes various systems management appliances, finds that even though 93 percent of businesses acknowledge that power management can help reduce energy costs, only about half are using some sort of power management policies or technologies today.

Fewer than 10 percent use any sort of "commercially developed" solution to monitor and control desktop power. And 81 percent of them say they would like a solution that integrates with existing systems management tools. (Makes sense to me.) Educational institutions are most likely to use power management, while healthcare organizations are least likely.

One of the big reasons why not is that many companies still feel they don't know the cost benefits of applying power management, according to Wynn White, vice president of marketing for KACE. Estimates of the savings can range from $10 to more than $30 per desktop, depending on the policy applied, White says.

What's more, any money spent upfront for software or technology to address the policy could be offset by rebates from some of the more forward-thinking utility companies. These sorts of rebates are common across the Pacific Northwest and are spreading to other regions of the country, White says.

Another reason, in fact THE top reason, that companies don't apply power management is because they are worried about their ability to properly apply systems and security patches to their infrastructure.

The study was conducted in August 2009 on behalf of KACE by Dimensional Research, and it has been published under the title of "Desktop Power Management: A Survey of Technology Professionals." Close to 525 people were included in the study, all of whom had some sort of IT-related job function.