When I launched Ecoswag.com earlier this year, I had a big decision to make about what sort of platform to use for hosting the new site and what to use as our operating system. This was my first venture into true e-commerce, and the choice was between buying an on-site solution (which would include a server and software package) or adopting a SaaS (software as a service) solution provided by a third party.
I ultimately decided to go with a company called Netsuite, which offers an integrated SaaS solution that allows us to host our website and integrates it with our CRM, Order & Accounting instead of dealing with several different programs that don't 'talk' to each other like we had before. As far as I know, we are among the first in the promotional products industry to adopt the Netsuite system and I'm very happy we did! It's robust enough to manage both of our business divisions (Ecoswag.com & Swag Connection) and scalable as we continue to grow both of them.
Before Netsuite, we used to have to leave our computers on at night to accomodate our off-site backup service. Just the small change of powering down our computers every night has made a noticeable difference in our company's energy bill. We're also spared the expense of having to run our own server 24/7, which would be energy-inefficient for a small company such as ours. Adopting their system has saved us energy, and it looks like we're just a small part of a bigger picture - as evidenced by this recent Netsuite Press Release about the energy savings of their user base.
Here's another recent article on the subject of the energy savings of 'Cloud Computing' which appeared on the Greener Computing Blog you might find interesting as well.
Some of the other things we do at Ecoswag.com to be green include:
>Banning disposable plates, cups & utensils from our lunchroom
>Purchasing used office furniture & fixtures
>Using 100% recycled copy paper
>Recycling 100% of our office waste paper
>Bicycle commuting
>Keeping overhead lights off on sunny days because we have good natural light
>Discontinuing the use of paper catalogs in favor of online catalogs
Thanks for reading & please tell others about Ecoswag.com!
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