GreenITStrategy.com

In the face of news this week that Environmental Consulting is a $17.8 billion industry with an expected growth rate of 9% over the next five years, anyone in the IT services world might be sitting back thinking: why isn't Green IT selling like hotcakes then? So I have a piece of advice to those selling Green IT services.

My advice is: integrate it.

At the moment I see IT services companies developing separate services to cater to Green IT. Maybe it works. Maybe it doesn't. If it's not working for you then you may need to look at what your customers are saying about what you are offering. The overall feedback I am getting from people buying IT services is that they don't want to pay more for something you should be including in your regular services.

One example of what I am talking about: I was speaking with an Australian federal government agency two weeks ago about their Green IT implementation. In Australia all federal government agencies have to report quarterly on Green IT and they are setting up now to escalate their Green IT implementations. But this agency told me they aren't getting help from their outsourced IT partners (there are three major Australian IT services companies they use for data centre, server and desktop infrastructure).

What? I said.  How could you not be getting any help from your IT outsourcers on Green IT?

Well, they explained, all they want to do is sell us more stuff.  It all costs extra.

OK. I am thinking at this point: yes - poor customer I do understand where you are coming from. You have IT companies walking through your door or calling to sell you something new, day in, day out.

But in every customer there is a delicate balance of both opportunity and overload. Sometimes they just can't buy, switch, install, train, manage, fund or resource a new product or service for a billion reasons more important to them than the ones the IT services company has put in front of them.

And then I flip to my IT services management background and start thinking: Ah yes - you poor IT services companies. Always asked to perform more work for no more money. The classic scope creep issue. You do have to live - your sales teams are depending on making their numbers and that money has to come from somewhere.

Surely there is a balance here?

I don't have the silver bullet but if you are struggling with selling Green IT I'd suggest you look at it like OH&S. Sure your business has people trained in OH&S but safety is just integrated into every business. Its part of the fabric.

If you are selling Green IT services separate to your existing products and services now you have the opportunity to win more work in tenders, win customers' respect & subsequently their business if you just integrate Green IT into your existing products and services. Dare I say: Green IT is a service benefit and subsequently becomes a competitive differentiator - its not necessarily a service in itself.

Step out of the crowd and make Green IT part of the fabric. Sell the whole gown, not the stitching.

Thats my advice. Feel free to take it or leave it.