Seattle-based Verdiem has some encouraging news today from around the country—and its own backyard. The maker of energy-saving software for personal computers is announcing results from trials performed by the city governments of Seattle, Chicago, and Honolulu. These customers have been using Verdiem’s product over a period of months to a year, in an effort to make their PCs smarter about shutting down when they’re not being used, while also allowing the computers to do things like turn back on when software patches need to be installed.
Verdiem’s PC software package, called Surveyor, now includes a dashboard feature, also announced today, which lets corporate and government customers monitor PC energy costs and carbon emission savings more effectively through the use of charts and graphs.
Energy costs and emissions from PCs are surprisingly high, mainly because there are so many of them (about a billion worldwide). According to a 2008 report from the Global e-Sustainability Initiative, PCs account for more than 30 percent of all IT energy costs—more than servers, data centers, or printers. What’s more, companies, organizations, and individuals waste some $4 billion a year by leaving PCs, laptops, and monitors on when they’re not being used.
All three cities involved with the Verdiem announcement reported significant PC energy savings:
—The City of Seattle has deployed Verdiem’s software on more than 8,000 PCs across 30-plus city departments, and reduced PC energy consumption by some 35 percent. “The results we are achieving with Seattle-based Verdiem in reducing the City’s PC energy consumption demonstrate, in a very tangible way, how we can collectively save on energy costs and protect our planet,” said Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels in a statement.
—The City of Chicago started using Verdiem’s software in February of this year, and says it has reduced its PC energy consumption by 37 percent and has eliminated more than 350,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.
—The City of Honolulu deployed the software on 1,700 PCs starting in July 2008, and saved the city $30 per PC per year, reducing PC energy costs by more than 30 percent. Honolulu has the highest energy rates in the country (30 cents per kilowatt-hour), so its city government has extra incentive to reduce its electricity consumption.
Verdiem was founded in 2001 and is backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and NCD Investors, among others. It appears to be moving full steam ahead under new leadership: the company announced its incoming CEO, Jeremy Jaech, six months ago. Jaech was the co-founder of software giants Aldus and Visio, and was also involved with Trumba, a Seattle startup. When he took the helm of Verdiem back in December, he told me that big companies and other organizations are where the real energy and emissions savings are—and where Verdiem’s biggest opportunities lie. “It’s a simple concept with a quick ROI,” Jaech said. “Companies are starting to get really interested.”
