Fujitsu Siemens said of the 1,000 employees surveyed, some 370 never turn off their computers before leaving the office for the day. The company announced the results as part of its support for Energy Saving Week, a week-long UK campaign designed to raise awareness of energy consumption.
It said its own campaign, The Big Turn Off, extends the work that the Energy Saving Trust is doing throughout Energy Saving Week, by highlighting some of the unnecessary energy wastage in the workplace and urging workers to remember to turn their PCs off when they leave the office, rather than leave them on standby.
But Fujitsu Siemens’ research also shines a light on the remote PC access software that has grown in popularity in recent years, enabling users who are working remotely or on the road to gain full access to their office PC from any browser so they can continue to access their office files, mail, and applications. The only trouble is, nearly all of these remote access offerings require the office, or host, computer to be left turned on.
Companies like Citrix Online’s GoToMyPC, Laplink, Network Streaming, RealVNC, Anyplace Control, 3am Labs’ Log Me In, and many more are in this space, while others like BeInSync offer a way to synchronize access and share data between multiple computers using peer to peer technology.
However, as Citrix Online and Laplink were quick to point out, while it is true that leaving a host computer on uses additional power, using remote access software could actually save energy and costs in other ways. While there is a power cost associated with leaving a PC on overnight, we see the value of GoToMyPC as outweighing this in a number of ways, said Jason Randall, product manager for GoToMyPC.
Randall noted that GoToMyPC works even if the monitor on the host computer is switched off and the hard drive powered down, but also argued that, Many of our customers choose GoToMyPC versus using laptops and a VPN for cost considerations. I suspect that even with the electricity costs, using GoToMyPC rather than providing an additional laptop is still a much less expensive proposition.
Laplink chairman and CEO Thomas Koll, meanwhile, conceded that, We are definitely aware of the need for businesses to save resources, both for the good of their bottom line and for the greater, environmental good. I would even add that the overall light consumption is also a big waste.
He noted that using remote access to a PC could save energy in other ways. Remote access software allows people to work from anywhere, so they no longer need to drive to a specific location in order to be productive. Progressive, environmentally conscious initiatives such as teleworking are made possible, in large part, by remote control and remote access technologies.
While he confirmed that these remote access technologies typically, require always-on connectivity, which in turn has an economic and environmental impact, he argued that, this kind of waste is definitely the lesser of two evils, but that doesn’t mean Laplink isn’t actively working to pioneer new solutions that will minimize this kind of waste.
Koll told Computer Business Review that Laplink is currently working on proprietary solutions that enable users to connect remotely to a PC that is in standby mode: You’ll see this functionality in the next release of the product, said Koll. We are also working on a solution that will allow users to connect to a PC in full hibernate mode, although this will be a solution specific to a group of PCs connected by a LAN.
Citrix Online’s Randall said that as well as cost and environmental considerations, enterprises should consider productivity issues before they consider limiting employees’ use of remote access solutions that require PCs to be left on or in standby mode. Global companies require a 24×7 workforce that needs access to data at all times, and GoToMyPC can provide this, Randall said. The productivity gains, workplace performance and quality of work/life balance are value-added gains the company sees by providing employees with 24×7 access.
Of course, employees are not the only ones to blame for leaving their computers on – if their PCs booted up a little faster in the morning they may be less hesitant to turn them off at night. Nevertheless, Fujitsu Siemens is right to highlight the environmental and cost implications of employees leaving their PCs on at night, and certainly those who do not require remote access until they next come into the office should heed the company’s advice. IT and HR departments could help by educating staff about turning off or at least using lower cost options like hibernation mode.
