Dubai computer users conserve more energy than in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: The abundance of energy in the Gulf has allowed computer users in the region to neglect learning about ways of conserving energy, according to IT experts.

In the UAE, the relatively higher energy cost in Dubai has resulted in a more responsible power usage compared to other emirates, they pointed out.

"If we look at Abu Dhabi, where energy is more abundant and cheap, we find that computer users are less concerned with efficient energy matters, despite the fact that the emirate is hosting one of the world's leading environmental initiatives, namely Masdar City," said Fadi Helou, a sales manager at Fujitsu Siemens.

"In contrast, we find that the higher cost of energy in Dubai has resulted in more energy-efficient use," he added.

Fujitsu Siemens is among many IT producers seeking to qualify for the tenders related to the establishment of Masdar City.

"Right now, Masdar is still at the pre-qualification stage, and we will be submitting our offers for that ambitious project," he said.

The comments came on the sidelines of a green IT forum organised by Fujitsu Siemens and IT company Itqan in Abu Dhabi last week.

"The concept of green IT products initiated in the early 1990s through the introduction of Energy Star, and has gathered pace since then that now we find all IT products are environmentally friendly," said Feras Al Jabi, Itqan's general manager.

Individual efforts

"The problem of conservation now lies in the hands of the individual user, as corporations have their IT departments and are mostly energy conscious, compared to a more loose behaviour from users," he added.

Today, most hardware producers apply energy conservation principles in the production, including the utilisation of recyclable substances, and the production of energy efficient systems.

"Software and solutions are also becoming more environment-friendly, and this is apparent from the development of the application services provisioning, where we find many new applications that run on severs or even the internet without the need to be downloaded to the terminal," Al Jabi explained.

"What we seek from these forums is to spread awareness among consumers and users about the benefits of energy efficiency and environmentally friendly products," he added.