Having a strong network is essential for businesses to succeed in today’s competitive economy. Getting the most out of your network, however, doesn’t have to mean using a lot of electricity. In many cases, there are things that you can do to reduce energy usage on your network without having a negative impact on performance.

If you are interested in saving energy and money for your business, consider taking these four steps.

Steps to Save Energy

  1. Set Your Operating System to Shut Down Each Night

Leaving your computers on all night will force your network to use a lot of electricity. Unless you have second and third shift employees who need access to the computers, it’s best to shut them down at night. Unfortunately, you can’t rely on every employee to shut down his or her workstation. That means you should configure your operating system to shut down completely at a certain time.

According to some estimates, doing this will save you more than $25 per computer over the course of a year.

  1. Remove Unnecessary Hardware and Software

Chances are that you have unnecessary hardware and software that force your network to use more electricity that it needs to. Perform an intensive survey at least once a year to identify hardware and software that no one uses regularly.

There are several places to look. Some common areas where you can save energy include:

  • Extra computers that employees don’t use often
  • Applications that start automatically
  • Background applications that aren’t pertinent to work or administration

Removing these items from your network will decrease its energy needs.

  1. Use Cloud Applications

If you still have all of your computer software on your server, then there’s a good chance that you can reduce your energy usage by converting to cloud applications. Cloud applications are hosted on off-site machines, so you don’t have to pay for the electricity that they use. By switching to more cloud applications, you may find that you can reduce your server size, which means you will automatically reduce your energy use.

  1. Choose More Efficient Hardware When You Upgrade

The next time your company wants to update its hardware, choose EnergyStar 4.0 compliant options. These energy-efficient pieces of hardware might cost a little more, but they will save you money over time by using less electricity.

As you review your network and related hardware, make sure you pay attention to these four areas where you can potential save energy.

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