Is it really Greener in the Cloud?
Cloud computing seems to still be a key buzzword that arises whenever talking to any big company or organisation about how they are going to reduce the impact of their computer systems on the environment. But is it greener to place your services in the Cloud?
I feel there are many factors to take into consideration first.
- How are the servers powered?
- Are they virtual servers?
- Are they efficient servers?
- Where in the world are they based?
- Is the hardware ECO Compliant?
For many a return to 70's style computing via a dumb terminal will mean greater flexibility, mobility and offers the better security that Datacentres can provide, but is it greener? Personally I feel that a Cloud computing service is only going to be Green if it powers itself from renewably source energy. If not then it can't really be classed as Green.
For example:
Google claims that 30% of its electricity is sourced from renewables and this is set to increase to 35% next year and they have also invested in their own self generation schemes.
Rackspace won the Green IT award last year but they only Carbon offset and do not seem to buy energy from renewable sources or any of their own self generation energy production plans in place. Simply offsetting does not mean you have changed things for the true benefit of the environment.
It just goes to show that its always good to look beyond the marketing and find out the real facts.
When Apple launched their iCloud service they said the datacenters were the “greenest” they could make them, but are they? No details have emerged as yet about how they are powered so are they really green?
The chances are that Cloud computing will only prove more cost efficient if you are a larger user of IT systems as again going into the Cloud can mean that you reduce your required ground space and energy costs. If you have large amounts of data to store, security is an issue or need global roaming access to data then Cloud is definitely an option and should be considered.
It is true that Cloud computing can open up the possibilities for it to become easier to work from home and taking into account the carbon emissions that can be saved this is one way the Cloud can make your operations a bit greener. Cloud is not something you can buy off the shelf and instantly have made your computer services greener, although many companies seem to be implementing Cloud services and claiming to be Greener.
So next time you're looking into Cloud services, ask the companies you are approaching about where their energy comes from and what makes their datacenter green, remember, offsetting doesn;t make a service green its just passing the problem to someone else.
Sources and reference:
http://www.google.com/green/the-big-picture.html#/
http://www.rackspace.co.uk/about-us/awards/detail/a/green-it-awards
http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/thinking-tech/just-how-green-is-cloud-co...
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publication...
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/06/how-green-is-apple-icloud-datace...