Fujitsu-Environmental-Benefits-of-Desktop-Virtual-Computing-VCS

White Paper Environmental Benefits of Desktop Virtual Computing
Page 1 of 4 www.fujitsu.com/au/services/infrastructure-services/virtual-client-services/
White Paper
Environmental Benefits of Desktop
Virtual Computing
Energy efficiency benefits and Environmental Considerations when Deploying a
Virtual Desktop Solution
Written by:
Lee Stewart, Head of Sustainability Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand
James Mercer, Solution Director for VCS Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand
Contents
■ Introduction
■ Virtual Compuitng Servcies Defined
■ Current State of Desktop Energy vs
Virtual Desktop
■ Other Benefits
■ Conclusion
■ Appendix

Page 2 of 4 www.fujitsu.com.au/sustainability
Introduction
The rise and uptake of the virtual desktop has enabled organisations to
realise a number of benefits including improved user experience,
better customer service and up to a 40% reduction in desktop support
costs. Not to mention the ability for organisations to move from a
CAPEX operating model to a more OPEX utility based platform.
With most of the focus being on tangible business benefits, little has
been said about the environmental benefits of virtual desktops. With
rising energy costs and environmental compliance the total
environmental benefits of a virtual desktop solution have been to date
undervalued.
This white paper focuses on the closely linked subjects of energy use
and carbon emissions around the desktop environment. It looks at
the potential decreased energy costs in the context of Fujitsu’s Virtual
Client Services (VCS) virtual desktop solution and also delves deeper
into other tangible and intangible benefits. These benefits include
more efficient maintenance, longer refresh cycles of desktop hardware,
decreased heat load in buildings, ability to sweat assets longer and the
potential reduced embodied carbon and emissions throughout the
lifecycle of a VCS solution.
In our recent global ICT Sustainability Survey* which included
interviews with 1,200 CIO’s and IT Leaders across 8 countries showed
that 51% are either in the planning or pilot phase of desktop
virtualisation and just 12% considering themselves at best practice.
The remaining 27% currently do not have plans for virtual desktops.
By factoring in the reduced energy costs and also other tangible
environmental benefits this paper aims to provide you with practical
advice on how to further support the business case for virtual desktop
solutions.
Physical
Virtual
Virtual Computing Services Defined
Virtualisation lets one computer do the job of multiple computers by
sharing the resources of a single computer across multiple
environments.
The virtual desktop allows organisations to host and centrally manage
desktop virtual machines in the data center while giving end users a
full PC desktop experience.
Virtual desktop solutions typically involve a thin client based
connection to a desktop environment which can include office
productivity suite alongside other desktop applications. The desktop is
hosted, run, delivered and supported from a central location with
high-quality and resilient connections to the Internet/cloud.
Connecting clients run pre-installed or downloaded viewer applications
via one of many remote desktop protocols. Clients can include thin
clients, PCs, workstations, mobile and handheld devices running a
variety of operating systems such as Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and
others.
Current State of Desktop Energy Use
Currently the traditional desktop is connected to a corporate network
and all the processing is done via that desktop which is known as
decentralised computing. An average desktop computer has a power
usage of between 80 and 250 watts, depending on the graphics cards,
processors etc.
To calculate desktop energy usage we used the following method:
The desktop calculations are based on the following assumptions:
 Is on for 3,000 hours per year out of a possible 8760 hours
 Average power draw of 120 watts at a 65% utilisation
 Paying 0.25c per kWh
 Emission factor of 0.88 kg of CO2e per kWh (Based on NSW)
Annual running costs: $58.50**
Annual Co2e: 210 kg
Annual Energy: 230 kWh
A thin client on the other hand can have a power draw of just 8 to 25
watts and based on the above assumptions and assuming a power
draw of 15 watts the annual usage is as follows:
Annual running costs: $7.31**
Annual Co2e: 30 kg
Annual Energy: 29 kWh
Per unit a thin client could potentially save up to $51.19* per year in
energy costs while also reducing emissions by 140kg. Across a fleet of
say 5,000 users the savings could be quite significant, resulting in
energy costs savings of $255,950 and a reduction of 900 tonnes of
CO2e per annum.
 

Types
Asset yearperusedareassetsDaysdayperusedisassetHrs
hrperassetbyconsumedPowerassetofNumber
)
(

It’s not all clearly black and white….
While centralising computer power to a data center is needed for virtual
desktops, energy consumption required for computing power is shifted
from each individual machine to a central data center. This means an
increase in requirement at the server end but that is offset by a much
improved utilisation of available hardware at the central location.
It is difficult to determine the exact need for back end servers as you
need to factor in the type of processing power needed, applications
and user profiles. Based on an average typical office environment for
5,000 virtual desktop users you would need around 15 servers. Which
using the same formula and assuming a power draw of 500watts on
24/7 would cost $10,676 in power with an additional $7,500 in cooling
costs. (assuming it is hosted in an Data Centre with a Power Use
Effectiveness of 1.7) The environmental impact including cooling
would be around 73 tonnes of Co2e.
So in order to get a more complete picture on the environmental and
costs benefits you will need factor in the server impact which in this
example would be $18,176 and 73 tonnes of Co2e per annum.
Other Benefits of Virtual Desktops
While the main benefits lie directly in the reduced energy costs and
associated emissions there are a number of other environmental
benefits that could be factored into your decision making process on
whether to adopt a virtual desktop solution.
Decreased Heat Load in Buildings
Typically in commercial buildings in Australia and New Zealand up to
70% of the energy use of the building can be attributed to running the
heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). Three of the main
factors that increase heat load in buildings are people, lighting and ICT.
With ICT equipment the heat dissipation averages to be an additional
25% of the total kWh usage. So with a desktop that uses 230 kWh per
year the HVAC system in the building will on average need to output
an additional 57.5kWh of energy while a thin client which uses just 29
kWh per year would require an additional 7.25kWh.
Across a fleet of 5,000 users this could be an additional 251,250kWh
for desktops resulting in $62,812 in energy costs. In comparison a
virtual desktop environment will have an additional HVAC load of
36,250kWh resulting in $9,062 in power costs with a net benefit of
$53,750.
Equipment Lifecycle and Disposal
One Main point of advantage that virtual desktop environments have
is in life cycle and disposal. Thin client life spans are much longer as
they do not have hard drive fan or other moving parts which means
that there are no physical stress points. In theory you could run the
asset for 5 to 10 years instead of the typical lifecycle of three years. This
alone has significant sustainability benefits in the reduction in
manufacturing and transport emissions and overall embodied carbon
of your end user computing solution.
Aging thick clients can be readily converted to thin clients of a
virtualised environment. Another aspect is the simplified
decommissioning procedure. At the end of the operation phase, the
device at end user’s workplace is collected and decommissioned. This
may include restoration of factory settings and deletion of data which
may be a requirement for compliance with Information Security policies.
In case of thin client, no elaborate decommissioning procedures are
required and the unit can be redeployed or recycled much easier than a
normal desktop.
Enablement of Activity Based Working (ABW) Environments
The concept of activity based work is becoming increasingly popular as
organisations are adopting flexible workplaces and practices. This
includes creating virtual offices through implementing the latest
technology such as laptops, instant messaging and wireless
connectivity enabling their staff to work almost anywhere. One of the
main advantages of ABW is the reduced power, paper usage and real
estate costs. Underpinning the move to an ABW environment if the
technology and the ability for staff to be connected from any located
and not tied to one desk. VCS can play a major role in unlocking the
real benefits of ABW environments.
Telecommuting
Having Virtual Desktop gives organisation the ability to support
infrastructure for remote work, telecommute or on-call. This results in
increased employee productivity and saving on fuel costs. One major
challenge with physical machines is that a fixed workstation restricts
the organisation from supporting this flexibility while challenge with
mobile workstations (laptops or tablets) is that there is little control
over data security on the device. Virtualised desktop environment
removes both constraints and provides both security and mobility.
Conclusion
The environmental benefits of a virtual desktop solution can be
significant and the technology provides the CIO an opportunity to assist
in making a significant contribution to the organization’s sustainability
and energy efficiency goals. Careful consideration must be made in the
back end infrastructure and the hosting environment of the servers
otherwise you risk merely pushing the issue from the desktop to the
data centre. Also a key recommendation is to carry out energy testing
of any new virtual desktop equipment to ensure you are getting the
right product and can factor in the correct energy savings into your
business case.
*Fujitsu Global ICT Sustainability Benchmark. Global index of the ICT
Sustainability maturity of our IT leaders covering all aspects of ICT including
Lifecycle, End User, Enterprise, Metrics and Enablement. (See appendix for link
to latest survey results)
**Figures quoted are for example purposes only. Actual situation may vary
depending on the specs, age and use of old equipment, the specs and how the
new virtual desktop system is used, what you pay for energy and the local
emission factor applicable to your location. The Sustainability Consulting team
is able to supply Fujitsu clients and prospects a detailed and tailored analysis
specific to your situation upon request.

Appendix
ICT Sustainability – The Global Benchmark
https://www-s.fujitsu.com/global/solutions/sustainability/Fujitsu-Sustai
nability.html
Fujitsu Sustainability Solutions – Virtual Desktop
http://www.fujitsu.com/au/sustainability/sustainability-solutions/deskt
op-virtualisation/index.html
Contact
Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand Ltd
Address: Level 16, 15 Blue St,
Nth Sydney, NSW 2060, Australia
Phone: +61-2-9113 9200
Fax : +61-2-9113 9222
E-mail: duet@au.fujitsu.com
Website: www.fujitsu.com/au
YYYY-MM-DD [Region Code] [Language Code]
© Copyright 2013 Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand, the Fujitsu logo are trademarks or registered trademarks
of Fujitsu Limited in Japan and other countries. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Technical data subject to modification and delivery subject
to availability. Any liability that the data and illustrations are complete, actual or correct is excluded.
Designations may be trademarks and/or copyrights of the respective manufacturer, the use of which by third
parties for their own purposes may infringe the rights of such owner.

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