CIT Puts Focus on Telework and Greening the Data Center at NIH Earth Day

The annual NIH Earth Day celebration took place on April 28, 2011, despite a forced move indoors to Building 10 due to the potential for severe weather. The meteorological threat offered its own environmental argument in favor of the telework-related technologies exhibited by the Center for Information Technology (CIT). Our virtual collaboration and communication offerings enable more effective telework and so help reduce work-related travel and commuting, which not only limits carbon emissions, but also avoids being out in bad weather.

Web Collaboration: Benefits for telework and the environment

As part of the Earth Day event, CIT showcased virtual communication services such as Web Collaboration (via Adobe Connect) and streaming (or downloaded) VideoCasts. Our staff hosted live Web Collaboration sessions with full video and audio using laptops and a wireless connection that linked the campus location to the Fernwood location. Using Web Collaboration, employees can be connected, whether working from home or offices located in different cities or countries, and teams can work together even when geographically distant. These services also help to "green" the office by saving you and your team members time, money, and energy usually spent traveling to various meetings and events.

VideoCasts on the iPad

With the newest in mobile technology, it was demonstrated how easily CIT's VideoCasting service can make your informational sessions accessible nearly anywhere. CIT staff used an iPad to play a VideoCast of actor Alan Alda's improvisational theater demonstration at NIH, designed to improve communication skills for public speaking. Like Web Collaboration, VideoCasts enable information sharing without travel, reducing costs while increasing the size of your potential audience. Whether live streaming or downloaded at your convenience, VideoCasts allow you to view a meeting presentation from wherever you are, making it easier for information to be shared and people to collaborate regardless of geographic distance.

Greening the Data Center

The annual NIH Earth Day celebration also gave CIT the opportunity to show our progress in greening the Data Center, in our ongoing efforts to support NIH's Greening Initiative and Environmental Policy. Finding ways to be more energy-efficient makes the Data Center better able to maintain and grow its operations but also lowers fuel consumption and energy-related costs for customers. Our energy-efficiency project has been moving forward with the installation of a newer, more efficient and reliable power source for the Data Center, which allows us to reduce both the environmental footprint and the rising costs of energy use.

Questions and more information

If you would like to know more about CIT's telework technologies offerings, see the other telework-related articles in this issue, or visit the CIT Services Seminar Series page (http://cit.nih.gov/Support/RelationshipManagers/ServicesSeminar.htm), for a summary of the Telework Technologies seminar and links to the materials used in the seminar.

If you are interested specifically in collaborative online services, please visit the CIT Video Services website or the CIT Service Catalog. If you have any questions about the Data Center, CIT's greening policy, or any of the services mentioned in this article, contact the NIH IT Service Desk online at http://itservicedesk.nih.gov or by phone at 301-496-4357 (local), 866-319-4357 (toll free), or 301-496-8294 (TTY).

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