REDMOND, Wa. – According to a Microsoft-commissioned survey of 250 IT decision-makers from small businesses across the United States, 60 percent said that they were saving money by using sustainable technologies.

Findings include 38 percent of respondents reporting that their companies were more focused on being environmentally friendly than they were one year ago. As well, an overwhelming majority (69 percent) of respondents reported that environmentally friendly practices were important for their business. When it comes to methods for greening their business, 94 percent of those surveyed also believed that technology was an important tool to help accomplish that goal.

“Technology can play a significant role in helping businesses lower their impact on the environment,” said Francois Ajenstat, director of environmental sustainability at Microsoft, in a statement. “Microsoft helps by reducing the energy consumption of technology, helping manage the environmental footprint and rethinking business practices. This enables organizations to improve both their bottom line and the sustainability of their operations.”

The survey results revealed some practices that small businesses saw as most beneficial for the environment. For example, respondents identified a paperless office as the number one green IT practice that they felt also offered the greatest cost savings.

Other sustainable practices that survey respondents also believed represented the most savings potential for their business include 28 percent said they would set-up standards to manage power consumption for computers, such as setting computers or monitors to sleep mode after a period of not being used. Another 26 percent said they would allow employees to telecommute while 15 percent said they would move towards using mobile technology and conduct live meetings that share resources over the web such as presentations (14 percent). Also, 16 percent of respondents said they would upgrade server infrastructure with the most energy-efficient technology available.

One survey participant, Joseph Hommel, chief operating officer and co-owner of Maui Office Machines and Furnishings, considers environmental practices for his business a natural extension of his personal lifestyle.

“Living and working on an island, being green is a necessity,” Hommel stated. “To practice paperless communication, we use Microsoft Outlook to handle all client proposals. By sending everything electronically, we are able to include color and images in proposals easily for more effective communications.”

Another participant, Curtis Ryan, owner of EuroTan in San Antonio, Tex. switched to online marketing almost exclusively to promote his businesses, and the results not only benefited the environment but also his bottom line.

“We used to send several bulk direct-mail pieces each year, with significant expense in design, printing and postage, but very low success rates,” Ryan stated. “Now we’ve eliminated that waste of paper, and instead I use Outlook to send special promotions to our client database for a fraction of the cost. I also use Microsoft Publisher to create and manage our websites, which has eliminated the cost of an outside vendor as well as the costs to maintain a listing in a printed telephone directory.”

Ajenstat said that Microsoft offers solutions to help small businesses implement environmentally friendly IT practices. When it comes to creating paperless offices, Microsoft Office Live provides businesses with programs such as an online filing cabinet, where documents can be stored, shared, edited or read by anyone in the company. With devices equipped with Windows Mobile technology, these documents can be accessed from nearly anywhere, allowing more employees to work from home.

This column was written by Vanessa Ho of ConnectIT, an IntegratedMarCompany

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