KiteBlue

An openly green letter to the software industry

Today’s “green” software applications leave a lot to be desired. In this open letter to software industry CEOs, Jyoti Banerjee of KiteBlue argues that we need fresh thinking and leadership to make a genuine difference to the industry’s poorly-served customer.

Dear software CEO,

First of all, warmest greetings for 2010. I know that 2009 was a rather unusual year, to say the least, and I am certainly looking forward to what 2010 has to offer. But this letter is not about New Year greetings or resolutions. So, on with my missive.

The carbon footprint of information and communications technologies is growing and growing. Laptops, servers, mobile phones, networks, cloud farms and their like are expected to contribute around 1.5 gigatons of carbon to our planet’s footprint, at least three times more than their contribution in 2002. Yet these same technologies are enabling all sorts of other industries to cut their carbon footprints. The smart guys at McKinsey have estimated that IT – an industry in which your companies play a key role - will enable around 7.8 gigatons of emissions to be cut from other industries by 2020, or around a sixth of global emissions today.

So it should be worth doing.

But is it? Are we really seeing myriad industries abating their environmental emissions as a result of the output of the ICT industries? Quite possibly we are; I am not in a position to comment. But the one industry that I have tracked for nearly two decades, business application software, seems to be pulling up short.

Yes, that is your industry.

Carbonated apps have no fizz

The software industry seems to have little to offer its customers in terms of value in environmental management. Some of you say that this is because your customers have shown no interest in green software apps. And you would be right - most of your customers have ignored green software, at a time when climate change and the environment are two of the hottest properties around.

But why is that?

I think it is because your "carbonated" software applications have no fizz whatsoever. What do I mean by that? Well, do read on.

It’s not as if we don’t have countless little carbon apps on offer, thank you. If the number of carbon calculators from application software companies and on the Internet was a measure of how seriously climate change was being tackled, then the problem of carbon emissions would have to be filed under the category “solved.” But carbon calculators and environmental dashboards are just window-dressing. They are very limited in their scope and their thinking, and their perpetrators are condemning the business software industry to the role of bit-players in the climate change saga playing out in front of our eyes.

Let me give you some reasons why.

A medium enterprise guide to Windows 7

Does Windows 7 deliver the goods for business? Jyoti Banerjee checks out Microsoft's latest operating system.

In our home, October 22 has been the focus of anticipation for some weeks now. Our eldest becomes a teenager that day, and so the days have been filled with a count-down, and many lists of things to do in the build-up and during the day itself, with friends, and with family. Well, the day is finally upon us – may the celebrations begin. But little does my daughter know that this day has been awaited with much anticipation by a slightly larger group of people than her family and friends. In fact, thousands upon thousands have been waiting for this day: a hundred thousand Microsoft employees and the millions more that share the Windows ecosystem, as October 22 ushers in the official launch of Windows 7.

For many in Microsoft, Windows Vista tarnished the brand of the software giant’s most valuable product. Although Vista sought to deliver a new architecture for operating systems that addressed growing security concerns among PC users, the end-result was poor performance on many PCs and numerous security features that annoyed the very users they were supposed to protect. The word on the street was to stick with XP. Although Vista sold in the millions, the vast majority of the Windows installed base, consumer or business, never moved from Windows XP.

Will anything change with Windows 7?

The answer is yes, and here are some reasons why.

Druckman: New IFRS SME reporting standards are confusing

The International Federation of Accountants has published a financial reporting standard applying to SME organisations. But, argues M Institute co-founder Paul Druckman, the new standard will only give rise to confusion. KiteBlue asked Paul to explain his thoughts in a guest column.

In July 2009 the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) published an International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) designed for use by small and medium-sized entities (SMEs). SMEs are estimated to represent more than 95 per cent of all companies. The standard is a result of a five-year development process with extensive consultation of SMEs worldwide.

This has created a dilemma for countries across the world in reflecting on IFRS implementation in deciding how big is an SME? Leading to a headline in Accountancy Age magazine: Confusion over SME size could complicate international rules.

Dealing with carbon regulations

While the Obama administration is moving fast to break with eight years of "climate denial" under George Bush, the UK government seems to have lost its early focus on introducing climate change regulations. Jyoti Banerjee investigates.

For a time, a year or so ago, it looked as if UK companies would be required to meet mandatory regulations on carbon emissions. But the focus seems to have been lost, under pressure from business lobby groups that are concerned about the impact such regulations will have on British companies. Instead, UK companies are urged to report their carbon emissions following recommended guidelines, and the soonest we will have a carbon regulatory framework will now be 2010, when only Britain's largest companies will have to meet the forthcoming Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) mandatory framework.

The Americans are still debating the merits of carbon trading schemes versus carbon taxes, with carbon trading, based on existing EU schemes, gaining ground among policy-makers. Right now, no one really knows what the Obama administration will seek to put in place but it is quite certain that whatever happens in the US will be felt over here in the UK.

Say no to bank bonuses!

Britain's bankers are planning to reward themselves with billions in bonuses out of their bail-out funds. Should they be allowed to get away with this? Jyoti Banerjee says most emphatically not.

Let me say this as plainly as I can: Britain’s bailed-out bankers should not get a bonus. 

It must be a morally-corrosive atmosphere in Britain’s banks if their senior management are prepared to pay out bonuses in the billions of pounds a few short weeks after these banks have been bailed out by the public purse.  Their argument is two-fold – they need to reward those who did a good job, and they need to hang on to the talent needed to rebuild Britain’s banks.

Their PR message seems to be getting across to some quarters since even Chancellor Alastair Darling, arguably the closest thing we have to an owner of the near-nationalised banks, is parroting the same worn spiel. 

Both arguments are a nonsense. 

Trepidation and quiet confidence

Medium-sized businesses’ ability to deploy game-changing IT will help them withstand the recession, as delegates at Information Age’s IT for the M Business conference discovered. M Institute co-hosted the conference and Jyoti Banerjee listened in on the discussion.

Information Age's Pete Swabey reports that the current economic crisis will hit medium businesses the hardest. He came to this view listening to the proceedings at the recent IT for the M Business conference. Swabey says, "They have neither the agility of small businesses, which can change tack at the drop of a hat, nor the economies of scale of corporations, many of whom have the cash to sit tight and weather the storm."

As M Institute has often noted, medium businesses (unlike their smaller brethren) are prepared to invest in sophisticated IT, and have a real appreciation of what IT can do to enable the business to scale efficiently. But unlike large organisations, Swabey notes that "mid-sized business don’t have the luxury of getting it wrong or experimenting: IT projects need to be 100% tied to the achievement of business goals, with an intense focus on payback and benefits."

Medium-sized businesses’ ability to deploy game-changing IT will help them withstand the recession, as delegates at Information Age’s IT for the M Business conference discovered. M Institute co-hosted the conference and Jyoti Banerjee listened in on the discussion.

Information Age's Pete Swabey reports that the current economic crisis will hit medium businesses the hardest. He came to this view listening to the proceedings at the recent IT for the M Business conference. Swabey says, "They have neither the agility of small businesses, which can change tack at the drop of a hat, nor the economies of scale of corporations, many of whom have the cash to sit tight and weather the storm."

As M Institute has often noted, medium businesses (unlike their smaller brethren) are prepared to invest in sophisticated IT, and have a real appreciation of what IT can do to enable the business to scale efficiently. But unlike large organisations, Swabey notes that "mid-sized business don’t have the luxury of getting it wrong or experimenting: IT projects need to be 100% tied to the achievement of business goals, with an intense focus on payback and benefits."