Subscribe RSS FeedWhile your data would have previously been held on a noisy server that cost you a fortune to buy and even more to maintain, we are seeing more and more servers be replaced with cloud based servers. 2011 was definitely the year that cloud computing went from gimmick to mainstream, in fact, a leading market research has predicted that the cloud computing market will triple over the next 3 years, becoming worth over $120 billion!
CO2 Savings
A research by the Carbon Disclosure Project has indicated that if companies in the UK adopt cloud computing services at the rate they have said, it could save over £1billion every year by 2020, which is approximately 9.2million tons pg CO2 – or to put it another way, the same as running over 4 million less cars in the UK! If companies in the USA followed in the same path, their savings could be even greater, totalling over $12billion!
Cloud Benefits
So why are companies turning to the cloud? Obviously one of the main reasons is the convenience that it provides over traditional IT systems, however the other large reason is simply down to the financial cost associated with cloud computing over traditional IT. Cloud computing is no longer an infant technology or a specialist area for geeks; it is a mainstream technology which almost everyone can benefit from.
IT Recycling
However if we are to look at green IT as a whole, we need to look at every step. Not just how much power your systems are going to use, but what happens to your old IT equipment? Most likely it ends up in the skip! Where possible, we should try to repurpose machines in order to prolong their lifespan. If the equipment is at the end of its life, it is important to make sure that the correct WEEE recycling guidelines are followed when replacing any equipment.
Is The Cloud Green?
This brings is onto the next point. Is the cloud green? The real answer is no! Approximately 70% of the energy used to power our data centres is created from fossil fuels. Yes, the cloud will be more energy efficient obviously. For example, if you have 500 companies all with their mini server rooms, servers and cooling, these can be replaced with a state of the art purpose built data centre, running fewer servers and more efficiently. However there is still far more that can be done to turn the cloud into truly green IT. Ensuring that the most energy efficient servers are used and that the power is sourced from renewable sources is the next step in turning the cloud green!
The author is keen to promote green IT and energy efficiency, covering areas from cloud computing down through to computer repairs and even WEEE recycling to ensure that our landfills aren’t filled with old technology.
Tags: cloud computing, green it, IT recycling, noisy server