Bankers Going Green By Going Home

The bank however licenses a system called DesktopDirect from Array Networks, which enables most workers' PCs to be outfitted with full network access, to put it more exactly than traditional VPNs-which are taking everything into consideration only available to external users that have remote workstations outfitted for access.

"We didn't send all of our employees home, nevertheless what we can do is if there are people who want to come in on a Saturday or a Sunday, they can come in 'virtually'," says Gordon, adding the bank has 50 concurrent connections and can as well extend desktops to iPads and iPhones. If workers don't come into the office on weekends, he adds, "We won't have to adjust the temperature of the whole building."

The right research

If they choose the right research, banks have an possibility to leverage IP networks beyond the usual realm of telecom savings and disaster recovery to accomplish environmental goals. "[Having access to] telephony, fixed line, mobile or VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is as well critical," says Doug Washburn, an analyst for Forrester Innovation.

There are myriad companies that provide IP-based networks, and Andrew Borg, a senior innovation analyst for Aberdeen Group, says these can be used to submit data, voice and other functions to remote sites. "The prices [for faster networking technologies] are going way down," Borg says, adding prices in part have gown down more than 50 percent since the technologies first came to market.

DesktopDirect uses strong encryption, AAA, and data leakage protections to provide centralized management of a workforce that can log into their work stations from any Microsoft Windows-based device. To access the bank's network remotely, employees browse to a URL and enter the same credentials they would at the office-at the time a window presenting their office desktop launches.

"If you give people special credentials, they tend to forget," says Lior Rapaport, director of product line management at Array Networks. Gordon didn't say what the specific ROI goals are, although the bank should save on electric bills given the reduction in computer and electric use. Array Networks says an average mid-sized company can save about 1,400 tons of carbon emissions per year by using remote access.