New Research Shows Power Management Tops Green IT Initiatives as Cost Saver

Need to Keep Computers Running 24x7 for Patch Maintenance, Upgrades Cited as Chief Reasons for Slow Technology Adoption


Reading, UK – 9th September 2009 – KACE™, the leading systems management appliance company, today announced the results from new research that revealed 93 percent of IT professionals surveyed believe desktop power management has the potential to reduce overall IT costs. In fact, for IT professionals who manage computer power, desktop management has surpassed data centre power management in importance. The vast majority of survey participants believe there is an opportunity to save energy and reduce costs by practicing power management. However, less than half are actively managing desktop power usage today. The top reason cited for not implementing a power management strategy is the need to keep computers running at all times for patching and system upgrades.


Power management is an important topic for many corporate IT departments that are seeking ways to save money, while reducing their impact to the environment. The research, consisting of an online survey of more than 500 worldwide participants representing a wide range of IT functions, was conducted by market research firm Dimensional Research. The goal of the survey was to gather current opinions around desktop power management strategies. The research showed two-thirds of companies surveyed have established “green” initiatives and almost all of IT executives surveyed felt that desktop power management is beneficial to a company’s bottom-line, yet only 44 percent are actively practicing power management.


“The research shows that the majority of businesses see the importance of powering down computers to save money, but most are still hesitant to do so because of their need to ensure important patches and system updates are being applied,” said Diane Hagglund, senior research analyst for Dimensional Research and the survey’s author. “The desire is there for businesses to reduce costs and their overall carbon footprint, but actual adoption of desktop power management is still early in practice.”


A summary of the key findings from the survey include:

· 93 percent of survey respondents believe desktop power management will reduce costs;

· 56 percent do not manage desktop power usage in any way;

· 58 percent of front-line IT professionals surveyed lack visibility into cost savings from desktop power management;

· Only 10 percent indicate use of a commercially developed solution to manage desktop power;

· Most respondents indicated the number one feature needed in a commercial solution for desktop power management is easy scheduling of policies with upgrading and patching for windows;

· 81 percent of respondents want a desktop power management solution that is integrated with their systems management solution;

· 95 percent of IT executives believe desktop power management will reduce costs compared to 89 percent of “frontline” IT professionals.



Understanding the need for IT organisations to manage power, yet still ensure the security and currency of their systems, the award-winning KBOX™ family of systems management appliances by KACE™ allows organisations to set standby and shutdown power management policies coordinated with their configuration and patching maintenance windows. KBOX Configuration and Policy management allows administrators to control the amount of power a computer uses by enforcing power settings and scheduling shutdowns. Further, integrated Wake-on-LAN (WOL) capabilities allow administrators to automatically and safely power down machines when not in use, and in turn powers them back up for after-hours maintenance. Administrators can additionally use flexible KBOX reporting to track power policy adoption and the savings achieved.


“The ability for KBOX to automatically power down at night, yet still update patches and handle ongoing system and software updates, has led to incredible cost savings,” said Juancho Forlanda, network supervisor for Information Services at Stockton Unified School District. “Using the power savings capabilities of KBOX also led to rebates from our local utility, Pacific Gas and Electric. KBOX easily manages our most important desktop management tasks, saves us money and allows us to be environmentally friendly.”


A complimentary copy of the Dimensional Research report, titled “Desktop Power Management: A Survey of Technology Professionals,” is available at: www.kace.com/resources/Desktop-Power-Management.


Survey Methodology

In August 2009, an independent database of IT professionals from small, mid-sized and large IT organisations worldwide were emailed and invited to participate in the Web survey on the topic of power management for desktop and laptop computers. The 524 participants were not compensated for participation and represent a wide range of IT functions, including hands-on professionals (35 percent), IT managers (32 percent), IT executives (26 percent) and others.


About KACE™
KACE™ is the leading systems management appliance company. The award-winning KBOX™ family of appliances delivers easy-to-use, comprehensive systems management capabilities. KACE customers usually install in one day and enjoy the lowest total cost compared to software alternatives.



KACE is headquartered in Mountain View, California. To learn more about KACE and its product offerings, please visit www.kace.com.