Gallery

1E

Posted on 13 Aug 2008 at 14:17

Power-management software

1E's Nightwatchman is one of those deceptively simple ideas that you really wish you'd thought of yourself. It's a piece of software that automatically switches off machines that have been left on overnight, cutting a company's energy costs hugely.

Started in London in 1998, 1E now has 130 staff and counts Dell, Nestlé and Verizon among its clients, a focus which has brought it 65% growth over the past five years and expansion into the US. But it wasn't always plain sailing.

"The green agenda wasn't on corporate agendas five years ago," said Simon Francis, 1E's vice-president of Energy Solutions. "The market's finally caught up with us and businesses are looking at their environmental credentials."

Not just business, but government, too. 1E recently won a four-year deal with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to implement Nightwatchman across its offices. Nightwatchmen may have turned all the lights off, but the future's still looking bright for 1E.

Next: 6. RM

The best BrITish

Author: Stuart Turton