Around The Block Blog

Andy Hardy

Managing Director, Dell Compellent International

As international managing director, Hardy is responsible for growing Dell Compellent’s network of business partners outside North America, based in England. With more than 25 years global experience in technology, he joined Compellent after 13 years at global investment bank Nomura Group, most recently as a specialist in US-based technology companies. Prior to Nomura Group, Hardy held sales, product marketing and service management positions in Itochu of Japan and Basys (now Avid) in London. He was trained in the Royal Australian Air Force as an electronics engineer.

Posts

Open Letter to UK's Prime Minister Regarding Green IT Stimulus Plan

by Andy Hardy, Managing Director, Dell Compellent International — June 25, 2009
The Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA

June 24, 2009

Dear Prime Minister:

Compellent welcomes, in principle, the Global Action Plan’s call on Central Government for a £1 billion IT stimulus package that will lead to smarter, more environmentally efficient, higher quality public services.

The recession has clearly forced public and private organisations to look harder at technology investments, especially anything labelled as ‘green’ or ‘environmentally
efficient’ IT. Organisations have had to move quickly to cull any fuzzy, nice-to-have green IT options. Only green IT that clearly delivers greater efficiencies, with measureable and sustainable cost-benefits, can make a real difference. Most of the greatest recent innovations in true technology efficiency, for example server
and storage virtualisation, have sprung from agile, fast-growing companies, none of whom has been offered a public role with the Global Action Plan. Instead, it’s the usual IT behemoths with very limited direct claims, or indeed incentives, to offer truly efficient IT, who have put themselves at the head of the line for any state funds.

Subsequently, there is a very grave risk that any stimulus package will be put to highly inefficient use, depriving British public sector organisations of the best technology
options while extending the deployment of ageing, inefficient and power-hungry IT solutions. Much of any stimulus payment, which comes from the taxpayers, will therefore be wasted.

We call on the Global Action Plan and the British government to think very deeply about how any stimulus can be put to best use, based on proven best-practice examples that cite true efficiency in terms of delivering more in terms of a solution, while using less hardware and less energy to deliver it.

The digital future of Britain requires a forward-thinking infrastructure based on today’s technology, not yesterday’s. Such an approach has already been proven to deliver more, but cost less, a concept that the tax-burdened British public will appreciate and welcome.

The nation has had its fill of political cosiness and gross fiscal irresponsibility. This could be an opportunity to start putting things right.