Sustainability in IT - Enabling Your Business To Do More With Less

Sustainability is no longer a “nice to have” that takes a backseat to everyday business cadence. It's reshaping how organisations choose their technology partners.

With our office based at the University of Wollongong’s Innovation Campus, our team works inside a living example of what a cleaner, smarter energy future looks like. That environment shapes how we design sustainable IT solutions that not only meet business goals, but also reduce environmental impact and running costs.

A campus built for a cleaner future

The University of Wollongong and its Innovation Campus (where our head office lies) are evolving into genuine clean‑energy precincts, backed by the university’s commitment to carbon neutrality and investment in solar, batteries and smart energy systems. Community batteries and a virtual power plant are being installed to store excess solar energy and release it when demand – and prices – are high, turning the campus into an active player in the wider energy system.

As of December 2025, the Innovation campus is fitted out with a number of Battery Energy Storage Systems. For businesses on campus, including Microsolve, this means offices powered almost exclusively with locally generated renewable energy rather than relying on the grid.

It also means access to a “living lab” where new technologies are tested in the real world, not just in theory, and that same spirit of practical innovation is at the heart of how we approach sustainable IT.

Why sustainability is part of our IT design

When designing technology solutions, two questions always come together: “Does this help the business work better?” and “Does this reduce its environmental footprint?” For us, good IT must do both, which is why sustainable IT is built into every project.

In practice, this means:

• Reducing energy use wherever possible across infrastructure and end‑user devices
• Extending the life of hardware to cut e‑waste and unnecessary upgrades
• Designing systems that are easy to manage and secure, so they run efficiently over time
• Supporting flexible, remote and hybrid work in ways that reduce both travel and on‑site infrastructure needs

This is not about ticking a “green” box. It is about creating leaner, more reliable and more cost‑effective IT systems that also support your sustainability commitments.

Cloud partners, renewables and right‑sizing

Cloud is central to this approach. Microsolve works with two major cloud partners: Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft. Both have made strong, public commitments to using renewable energy in their data centres and to improving energy efficiency across their platforms over time.

Using these cloud platforms, Microsolve “right sizes” infrastructure to the end purpose. Instead of over‑provisioned servers that sit idle and waste power, compute and storage are matched closely to the workloads they support. Capacity can scale up and down with demand. Non‑production systems can power down outside business hours. Data is tiered so high‑performance storage is used only where needed. This reduces direct energy use and avoids paying for capacity you do not actually need.

For decision‑makers, this means:

• Lower infrastructure and power costs over the life of each system
• More predictable operating expenses
• Stronger alignment with renewable energy and emissions goals

Green network technology with Cisco

Sustainability also starts at the network layer. Microsolve links its Cisco sustainability certification with the latest “green switch” technology to reduce both direct and indirect energy consumption in your environment.

Modern Cisco switches are designed to:

• Use more efficient power supplies and components
• Optimise Power over Ethernet (PoE) so devices only draw what they need
• Power down or throttle unused ports and services
• Provide visibility and telemetry so energy use can be monitored and managed

The result is a network that uses less power while maintaining performance and resilience. Less wasted energy in the comms room also means less heat, which reduces the load on air conditioning and further cuts indirect energy use.

Thin clients - achieving more with less

One of the most practical examples of sustainable IT in action is our focus on thin clients and “thin IT” solutions. A thin client is a small, low‑power computer that connects to a virtual desktop or cloud service, where most of the heavy processing actually happens. To your team, it still looks and feels like a normal computer where you log in, open your apps and join online meetings, but the device on the desk is doing far less work.

That simple change has big benefits:

• Thin clients use much less electricity than traditional desktop PCs
• Devices stay in service longer, reducing e‑waste
• Lower‑power devices produce less heat, easing the load on office air conditioning
• Centralised management makes updates, security and support easier and more consistent

In a precinct powered by solar, community batteries and a microgrid, thin IT fits right in. It keeps your end‑user computing light and efficient while the heavy lifting is handled in optimised, well‑managed environments.

Virtual teams and reduced commuting

How IT is delivered also affects your environmental impact. Microsolve operates with a strong virtual and remote‑first model, which significantly cuts commuting and travel for both staff and clients.

By relying on secure remote access, cloud collaboration, and modern support tools, much of the work that once required onsite visits can now be done from anywhere. This:

• Reduces fuel use and emissions from daily commuting and unnecessary site travel
• Speeds up response times, as specialists can assist without travel delays
• Lowers disruption for sites that need stable, calm environments for staff and clients

For organisations that care about both continuity and sustainability, a virtual team model demonstrates that technology services can become cleaner as well as more responsive.

Making sustainable IT easy to live with

Sustainable IT only works if it is easy and pleasant for people to use. The goal is to make the technology almost invisible, so your team can focus on their work, not the tools, while knowing their everyday choices support sustainability.

To support this, we:

• Design simple, familiar desktop experiences that follow users from device to device
• Provide clear, jargon‑free guides and short training tailored to different roles
• Make it straightforward to get help when something goes wrong
• Keep performance and reliability front‑of‑mind so “green” never feels like “slow”

We also help your organisation tell its sustainability story. By using solutions that reduce energy, extend device life and align with a cleaner campus, you can show staff, customers and stakeholders that your technology choices match your environmental values.

How this sets you (and us) apart

Many IT providers still talk mainly about speed and price. Those things matter, but they are no longer enough in a world focused on climate, resilience and responsible growth. What sets us apart is how we combine:

• Experience in designing secure, resilient IT systems
• A strong focus on user experience and change support
• A commitment to environmental impact as a design requirement, not an afterthought
• A location inside one of Australia’s most forward‑looking university energy precincts

Working with us means your IT strategy is shaped in the middle of a campus that is actively testing the future of energy and sustainability. You benefit from that environment, and from an approach that treats sustainable IT as a core business advantage, not a side project.

If you would like to explore how thin clients, cloud platforms and campus‑aligned energy initiatives can support your own goals, the next step is simple: start a conversation. Together, we can map out a practical, staged roadmap for sustainable IT – technology that works harder for your people, your budget and the planet.