May 30, 2008 - The question for IT vendors is no longer "Do companies care about green computing?" but rather "Where are they located?" according to a new report from Forrester Research. Forrester's latest survey of IT managers reveals yet another uptick in green IT awareness - but key drivers vary depending on geographic location.

For example, cost-cutting appears top-of-mind for most U.S. companies, which tend to weigh green IT's other benefits, such as better brand image and improved environmental performance, less heavily than other enterprises worldwide. Conversely, European firms view green IT's brand benefits as paramount, followed by aligning environmental performance with the company's overall green strategy. Cost-cutting rated a distant third.

What does that mean for green IT vendors?

"The challenge of creating products, services, and positioning that resonates with target customer segments will not be one-size-fits-all," the report concludes. "IT suppliers will have to take account of [this] as they design and market products to appeal to environmentally aware customers."

The report also revealed a stark contrast between U.S. and European companies in terms of where green IT programs originate. European enterprises favor a top-down approach in which green IT initiatives are pushed through at the highest management levels, while U.S. firms' green IT efforts tend to be driven from the bottom up.

"Strategists and marketers must understand the job function or role of their target customer," the report warns. "While IT roles like operations will often be at the center of green IT initiatives, organizational involvement typically stretches beyond IT into facilities, finance, HR, and even marketing."

Green IT procurement varies by industry as well, the report finds, with high-tech, utilities, and the public sector leading business services and manufacturing by several percentage points.

The report urges IT vendors to put these findings to work sooner rather than later, noting that "the geographic and industry variation outlined in our latest survey data is sure to deepen in the current challenging economic environment."

Order Forrester's report, More Green Progress In Enterprise IT, here.