The concept of green code seems to be catching on, or at least it's starting to register with IT managers.

The reason? Servers are being unnecessarily subjected to inefficient software packed with *features* that companies wind up not using. Computerworld UK reports that during the Environmental IT Leadership forum in London, panelists were put on the spot.

Matt Deacon, DPE chief architect at Microsoft, agreed that bloated software is inefficient software and explained that Microsoft has environmental sustainability in mind when designing code.

Deacon said 'sustainability' sits within Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Initiative, alongside security and interoperability. The mantra of the Initative is that products are secure and interoperable by design. By positioning sustainability within that framework, software can be "sustainable by design", according to Deacon.

Explain Vista then! I kid, I kid...

Anyway, not everyone is buying it. But one panelist had an interesting observation about some budget software and their tendency to run amok on a system's resources.