Tell about perspective green technologies in ICT

    For most people, Green ICT is about reducing the impact of ICT on the environment. It is about reducing the energy use of computers, servers and data centers. You might even consider the whole life cycle of ICT equipment and look at the rare material use or think about e-waste and recycling. However, ICT is not only part of the problem of our environmental impact, it is also part of the solution.  

    From the perspective of an organization or from an ICT department, it makes sense to think about Green ICT as the direct impact of ICT on the environment. This has also been fed by a myriad of publications on how to apply best practices such as total cost of ownership and data center design and management; basically linking Green ICT to cost efficiency, making it good for your wallet as well as the environment. This view was so widespread that Green ICT was declared dead because every sensible organization had already incorporated its principles in their daily practices. This was a very narrow perspective of course, because only the cost efficient practices were considered and more often than not, this was reasoned from the ICT department instead of the entire organization or beyond.

    To me, Green ICT is about considering all impacts of ICT on the environment, direct or indirect, positive or negative. We have to minimize the negative impacts and maximize the positive impacts. Yes, ICT can have a positive influence and reduce our environmental footprint: it can be used as an enabler for new environmental-friendly technologies, it can be used to make other processes more efficient and thus reduce their impacts, it can be used to dematerialize atoms to bits avoiding the use of (rare) materials. It all depends on how we use ICT, in the end it remains a means to an end.

    So, what is beyond the direct impacts of ICT? How can ICT be part of the solution? There are indirect and systemic impacts to consider. Both can become part of the problem as well as the solution. We can use ICT to dematerialize or substitute other processes or activities: e-mail instead of paper mail, video conference instead of face-to-face meetings. Both of these substitutions increase the use and thus the impact of ICT but they will likely result in a net decrease overall. I say likely, because the use of ICT will change the way we live and work. We could suddenly send thousands more e-mails than we would paper mails (because it is so easy to do) which may negate the one-on-one efficiency gain. This change of behaviour is an example of the systemic impact of ICT

    All these impacts might make it complicated to assess what is the right thing to do. Luckily there are a number of indicators that show that ICT in general has a dematerializing positive effect (more on this in a next post). We have to use technology to reduce our environmental footprint and ICT will play a major role in this transition to a low-carbon society. SURF has worked since 2010 with the Higher Education community in the Netherlands to learn about Green ICT.

Tell about Smart Technologies.

Smart Technologies Corporation is a publicly traded company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1987, Smart Technologies is best known as the developer of the Smart Board interactive whiteboard. Smart products are sold through dealers across North America and through distributors in countries around the world.

The company supplies varieties of the Smart Board interactive whiteboard, Smart Board interactive flat-panel display and SMART Room System for Microsoft Lync / Skype for Business. In 2014 the SMART kapp digital capture board was released, and in 2015, the company introduced SMART kappiQ ultra HD display.

The company supplies software for use with its Smart Board and other hardware, including

Smart Notebook collaborative learning software, which allows users to compile images and other media into virtual notebooks.

Smart Notebook Math Tools is an add-on to Smart Notebook and includes virtual math tools, including a ruler, compass and a protractor

Smart Response interactive response system allows students to answer questions posed by questions using various devices, such as specialized hardware remotes, computers, and smartphone applications.

Bridgit conferencing software is a data conferencing software that connects multiple parties across distances and allows users to share their desktop/laptop or interactive whiteboard screen with all participants. Smart Bridgit includes VoIP, webcam capability and digital ink.

Smart Meeting Pro software is a collaborative meeting software that connects two or more desktops/laptops or interactive whiteboards in the same meeting room, or across distances when using Bridgit.

Smart Vantage technology management software allows for centralized administration and management of Smart's hardware products.