Dell Helps Green Businesses Earth Rangers and Robertson Homes Reduce Energy and Manage Costs in Tough Economy

Dell is offering small and medium business customers energy-saving technology and free resources to help run business more efficiently and move from environmental awareness to business practice.

Having once been a small business, Dell understands that being green has implications in both business benefits and environmental responsibility. In March, CEO Michael Dell named green technology, and its power savings in energy efficiency, as one of the top three themes driving the next generation of IT. Customers Earth Rangers and Robertson Homes have partnered with Dell to run their business more efficiently.

Consulting with Dell and finding a customized set of greener technology options, Earth Rangers, an environmental education nonprofit based in Canada, was able grow its organization 100 percent while saving 90 percent on energy costs. By creating a virtualized server infrastructure using Dell PowerEdge M600blade servers and VMwareESX Server software housed in a Dell PowerEdge M1000e enclosure, they also reduced data center space by 90 percent. 

Robertson Homes, a green home builder in St. Cloud, Florida, recently added eight new Energy Smart OptiPlex 960 desktops and one PowerEdge blade server, which reduced their energy bill by 51 percent.

Greener and more energy-efficient technology is driven into the development of every Dell product portfolio. For example, the OptiPlex 960 desktop reduces up to 43 percent savings in energy costs over the OptiPlex GX6201. Additionally, solution technologies like virtualization reduce power consumption across an entire IT environment by enabling machines like a server or desktop to run multiple applications and operating systems on the same device.

In addition to green product choices, Dell offers a variety of programs, online resources and business practice sharing that empower customers to be more eco-friendly.

• Whether it be asset recovery, transitioning to a mobile office, energy efficient products, online tools and resources like Dell’s energy calculators or customer case studies show small and medium businesses understand that going green is good for business and the environment.
• Dell’s Energy Calculator helps SMBs estimate annual savings of custom configurations of their products.
• Proper computer recycling is important for the planet and helps ensure a company’s data is protected. Dell’s recycling program manages logistic and system disposal in line with EPA guidelines. Dell will help recover any remaining value of a system, help resell it to a third party or will help donate to the National Cristina Foundation (NCF).
• Dell’s Small and Medium Sized Business Solutions Center provides information on energy efficient technologies, SMB customer stories, expert advices and industry insight on how SMBs can successfully adopt environmental conscious practices.

Quotes:

“Going green is not only good for the environment, but it is fundamental for small businesses in today’s tough economy. With a significant chunk of a small business’s electricity bill being spent running technology, t he transition to Dell’s energy-efficient products and solutions can make a significant chop in a company’s monthly energy bill – and that kind of savings makes all the difference if you’re a business owners struggling to just to keep the lights on.” Erik Dithmer, vice president and general manager of Small and Medium Business, Dell Americas.

“With challenging economic times, we’ve seen a significant uptick in green technology interest from small and medium businesses across the globe. This isn't "tree hugger" green, this is "save money" green, driven by the cost-saving benefits of adopting greener technology. Investing for long term efficiency is part of it, but so is the real near term benefit of lower energy costs. SMBs are feeling the economic squeeze more than other segments and are looking to save money where ever they can, and if there are environmental benefits as well, so much the better.” Raymond Boggs, Vice President, Small/Medium Business and Home Office Research, IDC.

“We’re proud that our productive data center is small on space and big on energy savings. With assistance from Dell, we have created a sustainable IT infrastructure that reflects our environmental vision and will ultimately help our organization inspire and teach even more children in the years to come.” Gordon Jekubik, chief operating officer at Earth Rangers.

“We’re in the business of being green and wanted to change the way we operate our business to reflect our beliefs,” said Clint Robertson, co-owner and IT manager for Robertson Homes. “By adding Dell’s energy-efficient systems with power-management enabled, we’re not only reducing our carbon footprint but we’re saving on our bottom line.” Clint Robertson, IT manager for Robertson Homes.