Going Green…Using Consultants To Lead The Way

With Saint Patrick’s Day on our minds this week, it seems only fitting to give a nod to all things green. If you haven’t heard, there are two consulting trends helping to open the door to new opportunities. The first trend is a continued worldwide shortage of IT skills, according to the “IT Governance Global Status Report” from the IT Governance Institute. The report states that 38 percent of companies have “inadequately skilled staff” and 58 percent simply don’t have enough IT staff. For IT consultants, this spells G-R-E-E-N (money that is).

A second trend is just sweetening that pot of gold for those IT consultants who also happen to specialize in green - specifically, the environmentally-friendly use of technology. This is according to a recent report from Forrester Research called, The Dawn Of Green IT Services: A Market Overview Of Sustainability Consulting For IT Organizations. It notes that as organizations are “increasingly going green,” they are using IT folks to help lower energy consumption and become more environmentally responsible. The report estimates that spending for Green IT Services will top $4.8 billion by the year 2013, with European markets leading the way. The report also specifies services being sought from IT consultants, including helping companies assess and/or benchmark, plan, and implement green initiatives. Eco-savvy IT consultants just may leave the rest of us green with envy before it’s all said and done.