A collaborative agent based green IS practice assessment tool for environmental sustainability attainment in enterprise data centers

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a collaborative agent-based web architecture and an agent-based green IS assessment tool to aid information technology (IT) practitioners in data centers assess their current green information systems (IS) practice toward attaining sustainability. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology comprises that the collaborative agent-based web architecture, agents’ algorithm and the green IS assessment tool, which is validated by employing focus group questionnaire targeting IT practitioners in seven Malaysian-based enterprises that have an in-house data centers. With 105 valid samples at hand, descriptive analysis and exploratory factor analysis was utilized to determine the applicability of the implemented agent-based green IS assessment tool. Findings: Findings reveal that the agent-based green IS assessment tool possesses the capability to evaluate benchmark and rate enterprise data centers current green IS practice. Additional findings indicate that the agent-based green IS assessment tool provide suggestions on how green IS practice can be improved in enterprise data centers. Research limitations/implications: This study only collected data from 105 IT practitioners in enterprise data centers based in Malaysia; as such results from this research cannot be generalized to other countries. Moreover, the developed collaborative agents for green IS practice assessment can only be fully deployed after domain experts has added green IS practice assessment questions and alternative answers. Practical implications: This study presents an autonomous agent-based green IS assessment tool that supports the assessment of enterprise toward inclusion of sustainability considerations to enhance enterprise environmental performance. Social implications: This study provides empirical evidence for data centers efficacy leading toward a greener society for environmental conservation for future generations to come. Originality/value: This study creates awareness by presenting the green IS practice to be implemented by IT practitioners in data centers. In addition, the agent-based green IS assessment tool provides a web-based platform for promoting environmental sustainability by supporting data centers toward evaluating, benchmarking and rating their current green IS practices.