Absolute Software looks to solve the problem of energy wasting idle computers

Better know for its security solutions, Vancouver’s Absolute Software (Absolute Software Stock Quote, Chart, News: TSX:ABT) says it is going green.

Absolute today announced it is launching a campaign called “Earth Day Angels”, in support of Earth Day’s “A Billion Acts of Green” project.

The company says it will donate one dollar, to a maximum of $3500, to the Earth Day Network for every pledge shared on Absolute Software’s Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube pages or on it owns Absolute InTelligence Blog, and $10 for every person who watches a video on its power management solutions for business.

Absolute made its name with security products like Lojack for Laptops, which has helped recover tens of thousands of stolen computers, but its Absolute Manage is a bit of a left turn. The company says its solution enables computers to only use energy when they’re in use. Management says one client, Bensalem Township School District, reduced energy consumption by 79%, and saved about $53,000 in one year by installing Absolute Manage on 2,600 computers.

The energy use of computers has slowly become a hot-button issue. In an extensive examination of the information industry, The New York Times last year found pollution from data centers was staggering, with some appearing on California’s Toxic Air Contaminant Inventory, which tracks top diesel polluters.

“Most data centers, by design, consume vast amounts of energy in an incongruously wasteful manner, interviews and documents show,” the investigation revealed. “Online companies typically run their facilities at maximum capacity around the clock, whatever the demand. As a result, data centers can waste 90 percent or more of the electricity they pull off the grid.”

Of course, Absolute probably won’t be tackling large data centers for Google or Facebook, but the tech giant’s attempts to green their data centres has shone a light onto the entire power management problem.

Absolute says some organization’s computers are idle up to 76% of the time. Its solution assigns power saving profiles based on user connectivity, and builds data profiles that can be used to maximize power usage.