By Tan Choon Seng, vice president, contact center business, Avaya Asia Pacific | Apr 17, 2009

Many businesses have experienced the benefits of going green, but there are still some companies that are hesitant to follow suit because they are either uninformed or misinformed.  Below are some misconceptions about green IT.

Green IT is expensive
Most environmental measures have an up-front cost, but what is more important are the benefits tied to these investments.
For example, Goldis Bhd, a Malaysian private equity investor, deployed a Unified Communications solution in its newly built GTower in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The solutions they chose are designed to be eco-friendly and they helped slash operating expenses by consuming 31% less power than the industry average. The built-in hospitality features further lower power consumption.  This leads to energy-related cost-savings.

Green IT is just a fad
Green IT is here to stay. Not only does it help businesses save on operating expenses, but it helps make the world a better place. It will take some time for the a large majority of businesses to go green, but the public sector and the bigger players in the private sector are already beginning the shift.

Green IT is complicated
Going green is simpler than many organizations think. It's important is to establish a clear roadmap on how to go green. The entire company need to be on the same page and work towards the same objectives. Tying up with IT providers that provide eco-friendly solutions and which are able to share best practices is one way to ease the transitioning process.

Go all the way or nothing at all
Companies are hesitant to commit to going green fully, so they give up and drop all sustainability efforts entirely. In fact, a little adjustment can go a long way in saving the environment and reap cost savings.

Green IT is not for Asia
Green IT is not only a western phenomenon. In the Asia Pacific, companies are adopting green IT initiatives to minimize their carbon footprint and cut costs. Asia is home to more than half of the world's population, and if companies join the green movement, it would have a huge global impact.