New information technologies have developed exponentially over the last few years, to the point where they have become ubiquitous. The periods of confinement that we have experienced have given a great boost with, for companies, the implementation of resilient hardware and software infrastructures (on demand and on premise), accessible to workers both locally and in telecommuting to ensure an essential continuity of services. Among individuals, we have also seen an increase in the use of terminals and online services, with more than 59 million Internet users in France spending an average of more than 5 hours connected in January 2021 (source BDM " Key figures for the Internet and social networks in France in 2021 ").
These considerable figures clearly demonstrate the weight of our environmental footprint, which contributes to climate change, the degradation of ecosystems and the depletion of natural resources. Several studies indicate that the user work environment (computer terminal, software...) is the item that has the greatest impact, followed by data centers (in the front line with cloud technologies), IT departments and network infrastructures.
To limit the environmental impact of new technologies, a community of digital actors, aware of the climate emergency, proposes a set of good practices aimed at developing an environment more responsible digital.
Best practices for a more responsible digital world
These good practices that contribute to a more responsible and sustainable digital environment are determined according to the life cycle of digital goods or services.
In the upstream phases, it will therefore be necessary to implement a responsible purchasing strategy by precisely defining your needs in terms of hardware and software. You will also need to integrate into your processes reliable alternatives such as the secondary market of used perpetual software licenses. It will also be imperative to deploy a shared infrastructure to optimize data flow management and the use of hardware and software resources. In the same way, you will make your software architecture more eco-resilient and you will simplify the user interfaces by refocusing the scope of your applications on the essential features.
During the usage phase, IT departments will have to make the most of the performance and storage capacities of existing hardware infrastructures. Each employee will have to integrate good practices to limit the power consumption of his or her workstation (energy-saving settings, shutting down the workstation and servers in case of prolonged inactivity) and ensure its longevity (regular maintenance, disk scanning, antivirus, etc.). As far as software is concerned, you will have to adopt a selective update strategy, focusing on essential functional aspects and security. Directly linked to the management of data flows and data, the storage architecture of your data and the way in which your employees access it must be optimised. Printing, which has a significant environmental impact (consumption of electricity, paper and consumables), should also be rethought to limit the number of printers per BU and optimize their use.
Used software licensing as a strong link in a sustainable circular economy
Extending the life of IT equipment, hardware and software is one of the main challenges of more responsible computing. You are free to select the software versions and quantities needed according to your uses and needs. This avoids over-licensing and the race for technological innovations. By purchasing used software licenses on the Softcorner marketplace that precisely meet your functional specifications, you are actively participating in the development of a circular economy based on extending the life of digital resources. Moreover, your investment in software licenses on the secondary market is safe and legal (European Court of Justice ruling of July 3, 2012). By adopting this alternative solution supported by the Softcorner marketplace, you benefit from fully compliant software licenses (documentation, license key...) at lower costs. You also gain agility and flexibility compared to managing new licenses subject to the roadmaps of publishers.
