The world is talking more and more about CO2 emissions but it has only recently become common knowledge that technology and virtual aspects of our life – whether e-mail, posting on social media, or simply watching movies online – have a very clear impact on nature. The seemingly 100% virtual cloud is actually no different from other industries that depend on energy – it uses electricity to empower services and cool its servers, to maintain security, and to transfer data. All of this has a clear impact on sustainability at this very moment, but it also affects the criteria that businesses have for buying cloud services.
But not all hope is lost! On the contrary, major players like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are investing huge sums to be able to offer more sustainable services and solutions. This is definitely a trend that other cloud companies will follow.
Gartner: By 2025, Cloud Sustainability May Become Crucial in Choosing a Cloud Vendor
Gartner predicts that by 2025, one of the top criteria for companies looking to buy cloud services will be the carbon footprint . This is a positive change that is crucial for the future because in some cases, the rapid growth of cloud computing has led to uneconomical energy consumption in data processing, storage, and communication – Bloomberg estimated that as much as 8 per cent of all electricity generated could power cloud computing from 2021 onwards. Read from this article why investment in sustainability efforts and measurable outcome based on set industry standards is truly crucial for our future..
Biggest Energy Efficiency Problems in Cloud Computing
In cloud computing, data centres are the most prominent – this is where the machines for storing, retrieving, and executing data are stored. To run a typical data centre, you need hundreds or even thousands of servers, powerful air conditioners, and other vital cooling systems to keep the temperature from rising; monitoring equipment; cables to transfer information and electricity; switches; routers to route traffic; physical firewalls to protect the hosted data, etc. All of this often causes cloud data centres to release huge amounts of CO2 into the environment, which is a global problem affecting every person and business. Find out from this article what the biggest problems in cloud sustainability are.
A Wired Report on the Top 3 Cloud Providers Shows How Their Environmental Claims Stack Up
Wired examined the energy consumption and sustainability efforts of Microsoft, Google, and Amazon – the top three cloud providers that account for more than 2/3 of the industry. We dare to bring you this thorough review from 2019 because most of the topics covered in it – among others, greenwashing – are still burningly valid today, and most probably tomorrow as well.
But we also consider this publication important because it lists several very positive initiatives such as investing in hydropower solutions, using AI for continuous optimisation, benefitting from weather conditions with help of AI, and making better use of renewable energies.
Every month, our insiders team hand-picks three most important news stories about the changing cloud technology and growing industry. Our Cloud Newsletters help you distinguish important changes from short-term hypes and provide you with insight into making better choices. Subscribe here.