Go Green with Mathe

Why Green? There has never been a better time to make your company’s IT greener while getting immediate ROI. We can help your company do it in a smart business wise fashion implementing technologies like server virtualization, thin client and others to reduce your costs of IT power consumption by 50% or more while creating a more efficient and flexible working environment. It will also show that your company has a social conscience which is a positive for your employees and clients.

One of our recent projects is a new build-out in Morristown for Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. GRDodge is a highly regarded foundation for the Arts founded in 1974, and we are proud to be their technology partner and working with them on their green initiatives. Some of the technologies employed thus far include document management, electronic forms, and electronic fax which in addition to reducing paper and ink consumption also makes managing their information much more efficient.

Initiative

Server Virtualization

Green Benefits

Reduced power consumption, and reduced resources from building additional servers.

Additional Business Benefits

Lower hardware cost, easier management of servers, reduced power costs, faster recovery from failure, and flexible environment for growth.

Initiative

Thin Client Technology

Green Benefits

Reduced power consumption, less resources required versus a PC, reduced travel with the ability to work remotely.

Additional Business Benefits

Lower hardware cost, lower labor costs since terminals require minimal prepping, lower power costs, longer life cycle versus PC.

Initiative

Document Imaging & Mgt., eForms

Green Benefits

Less paper

Additional Business Benefits

Reduced labor to find information.

Initiative

Network Monitoring

Green Benefits

Reduces amount of site visits required to maintain the system as well as unexpected event visits.

Additional Business Benefits

Reduces downtime time and risk of data loss. Allows for better planning in resource needs and allows asset management and tracking.

Initiative

eBackup

Green Benefits

Reduces or eliminates traditional backup tapes and process saving resources and reducing waste.

Additional Business Benefits

Gets important data off-site for better continuity. Safer since eBackup is effective 99% of the time versus traditional rating for tape backup systems of only 45%. Allows for compliance with regulations.

Initiative

Electronic Network Faxing

Green Benefits

Virtually eliminates paper used for faxing as well as ink, and has some modest power reduction.

Additional Business Benefits

Less time required per fax, reduces lost faxes and missed faxes since faxes can be emailed and copied electronically, requires no maintenance or supplies,

Initiative

Wireless

Green Benefits

Reduces need for cabling.

Additional Business Benefits

Increases flexibility of work environment, increases speed of technology deployment, and allows new emerging technologies.

Eco-Conscience IT Partner

While Mathe has been promoting our clients with going greener we have been working hard to also go greener ourselves over the last few years. Here are some of the initiatives we have implemented:
Remote Support now makes up 90% of our support time.

We have increased and promoted remote support reducing our travel to client sites for most issues. As newer remote support technologies and practices have emerged, we have embraced and implemented them. In 1990 only 10% of work was done remotely. By 2000 we were doing approx. 30% of work being done at our client sites. Today 90% of the work we do is done remotely which also reduced our response time as well as time to fix while having reduced our gas consumption dramatically per consulting hour.

Advanced Network Health Monitoring has reduced our unplanned site visits by 75%.

In 2003 we had started reviewing network monitoring solutions and picked the best of breed by 2005 and started implementing it at our client sites. By monitoring over 750 different network variables on our client’s networks from the servers to routers, switches and even key PCs, we have been able to be very proactive and address small issues before they become big ones saving emergency site visits, reducing our client’s costs, and reducing our client’s downtime.

Our Fleet and Shipping
In the 1990s we have all SUVs so our engineers could carry a variety of equipment as needed. By the end of the 1990s we went to sedans for the engineers and added a cargo van for those big deliveries but significantly reducing our gas consumption. 5 years ago we started drop-shipping most of the software and hardware directly to client sites from our distributors reducing the amount of energy required per item delivered. This has allowed us over the last 3 years to move to smaller more fuel efficient vehicles for our engineers. Also, since we still need a vehicle capable of carrying network servers and printers on occasion, we are replacing our cargo van with a diesel SUV that we are converting to recycled Vegetable Oil producing zero emissions and running on a totally renewable resource. To learn more about this project for use, click here.

Internal Initiatives
We have virtualized all our internal servers onto one server reducing our server power consumption by approx. 60%. All of our engineers have moved to notebooks from desktops reducing each engineer’s power consumption for their desktops by approx 50%. We are in the process of converting our hot-site to 50% thin client in 2008 (15 PCs). Also in 2000 we started sending all our quotes and reports to our clients in PDF over email unless hard copy was specifically requested virtually eliminating paper copies.

Disposal of Client Technology
In 2000 we started a program of recycling our client’s old IT technologies as part of our service. We use an electromagnet to wipe the data on the hard drives and then physically destroy the media to eliminate the chance of data being recovered. We then take any components that could be reused such as RAID cards, memory chips, and power supplies. These components are never sold or thrown on eBay, but kept in reserve in a pool for other existing clients in case they need one of the items in an emergency. Since these are recycled parts we never bill for them, and once they are finished using them they go back into the pool. Once the drives are destroyed, and components removed that could be reused, the servers or PCs are then taken to a recycling center handling electronics where the equipment is professionally recycled.